Furious Deception
by Jarnac50
Summary: Spoiler alert - This is my theory on Fast 6, based on what we've seen so far.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: _I don't own anything from The Fast and The Furious (except the DVDs).

___First time posting something online, so I'm really excited, but anxious at the same time. I want to take the time to give thanks to my incredibly talented beta melthee, without whom this story wouldn't have been posted. And thanks to all the people on Michelle Rodriguez Official Forum - you guys really inspire me!_

* * *

Dominic Toretto stepped out onto his terrace with a beer in hand, ready to enjoy a peaceful afternoon. He was finally alone and was ready to start working on an old engine he was restoring. He'd just returned from dropping Elena Neves off at a nearby airport. She had stayed with him for a short time to visit and was now on her way back home to Rio. The last time he'd seen her had been two months prior. And, truth be told, he hadn't really missed her – had barely even thought of her.

Elena had always been "out of sight, out of mind" to him – ever since the first time they'd hooked up following Vince's funeral in Rio. His mind was, and would always be, set on one girl. _The girl he left behind and failed to protect._ God, he felt like such an idiot for underestimating what she would do just to be with him.

He felt guilty for the way he was treating Elena, but she always brought him so much comfort – and he just didn't have it in him to turn her down when she wanted to come visit. Even though they weren't really in a relationship, he cared about her – just not in the same way she cared about him. He'd known in the year that they had been meeting – mostly at his place – that she'd begun to get attached to him, to fall for him. That's why he had started to put more and more distance between them.

But leave it to his baby sister, Mia, to talk him into seeing her again. Mia, the ever-romantic and hopeful new mom, had begged him to give it one last try. He knew it bothered her to see him alone. She, much like himself, carried around a lot of guilt and regrets over a lot of things – the "what if's" were just too numerous to count – and he knew that some of the guilt she felt was because she knew what she had with Brian was something he'd never get to have with Letty.

So, this time, he'd tried really hard to have an amazing, romantic, exciting weekend with Elena, going as far as taking off his cross when they'd gone out for dinner, which he knew pleased her to no end. But in the end, it still hadn't felt right. His love was, and would forever remain, with the dark-eyed girl who'd stolen his heart and never gave it back.

And, despite all of his efforts, he could sense that Elena knew that they were over, too. She hadn't arranged to meet him again when he'd left her at the airport.

Dom's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a familiar voice.

"So, this is what 100 million buys, huh?"

He turned around to see DSS agent Luke Hobbs standing before him. It had been almost a year since he'd last seen him – and he sure hadn't missed him.

"Wasn't that hard to find you, Toretto."

"I wasn't hiding," Dom finally responded. He took a swig of his beer, unfazed. "What are you doing here, Hobbs? You and I both know that you have no jurisdiction here. This country has no extradition."

Without missing a beat, Hobbs replied, "Last week, a team of highly coordinated drivers took down an entire military convoy."

Dom's eyebrows rose. "You know Rio was my last job."

"I know you didn't do it," Hobbs replied confidently. "But you're gonna help me take down the team that did."

Dom let out a deep, throaty laugh. He couldn't believe what he was actually hearing. Taking another sip of his beer, he took a few steps closer.

"And why is that, Hobbs?"

"Because I know you, Dom. I know that even though you've made some bad decisions in your life, your heart was in the right place. You may be somewhat of a career criminal, but you've also done a lot of good with some of the stunts you've pulled. And I know that you never meant to have anyone killed while doing those jobs."

"I'm listening," Dom said curiously.

"The target is Owen Shaw, a former special-ops soldier. His unit specialized in counter-narcotics. Been chasing his crew 'cross 12 countries. For years, they've been running jobs in Europe. But it's the most recent jobs that have graduated them to an all-new level. The loss of life is unthinkable. And what they've got their hands on now is what's making me shiver in my boots. This was taken a week ago…"

Hobbs handed him a file.

Dom took it, slowly browsing through the contents. He scanned over the pictures and general information of some of the members of the team and the wreckage that they'd left behind in their latest jobs. _Damn, Hobbs was right._ The number of casualties was astonishing.

Finally, he reached the list of things that were taken from the military convoy. Besides a long list of guns and explosives, it seemed like the team had also taken possession of two "experimental" vehicles.

_What those cars were made of and what they could do…_

"That's impossible," Dom said in awe. He couldn't believe what he was reading – what those cars were capable of.

_To think that two of those vehicles were now in the hands of an elite team of criminals…_

"Oh, believe me, it is. With those cars in their possession, who knows what they'll do next. We've been after them for months, and no one has been able to stop them. They're fast and they're furious. And we think that your team might be the only thing capable of taking them down."

"But what do they want? Why are they doing this?" Dom questioned, confused.

"As far as we know, they haven't made any contact or request that could clue us in to what they're after. To this day, their motives are still unknown. What we do know is that they've targeted a lot of police and military operations. Unfortunately, the officials of some of the countries where they've been active haven't been cooperating, and haven't been very forthcoming in telling us what went down and what was taken. There's a lot of red tape and missing files surrounding the members of this crew and their backgrounds." Hobbs shook his head wearily. "Honestly Dom, it smells like government cover-up all around. That's why I need your team. I need people who won't give a shit about stepping on anyone's toes. I need someone to get in there and clean this mess up. So, what do you say? Are you _in_ or _out_?"

"You're seriously asking _me_ – _my_ team – to do a job for _you_?" Dom asked incredulously.

"Yes."

"And what do we get out of this?" Dom demanded.

"The satisfaction of doing something _good_ for a change." Hobbs paused, contemplating his next words. "Look Dom, I know that this isn't a money-making job, but think of it as a good deed for all the wrong you've done in your life. Besides… c'mon, admit it. You miss this… the thrill of the chase, the adrenaline rush… outsmarting the other team," he added with a knowing smile.

"I need to think about this," Dom replied lowly. "And talk it over with my team."

"You do that and let me know. My number's in the file."

Hobbs turned to leave and Dom remained silent, mulling over Hobb's request.

"Just, don't take too much time, okay?" Hobbs said mid-way down the stairs. "I need your help Dom. I need your team."


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Agent Luke Hobbs was very pleased with himself after leaving Dominic Toretto's villa in the South Pacific. He knew – with absolute confidence – that Dom would agree to help him. Dom was an arrogant man, and he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to show off. And Luke could live with that, especially if it meant putting Owen Shaw's crew to rest. Besides, he had an Ace up his sleeve – one that was going to rock Dom's world.

For several weeks he'd debated whether or not to inform Toretto of the fact that Leticia Ortiz – his former lover and the one he thought was dead – was, in fact, not only alive and well, but also the apparent second-in-command in Shaw's criminal organization.

He had, for the time being, decided not to relay this piece of information to Dom. His main target was Owen Shaw, and, as much as he hated to admit it, he needed Dom's help to take him down. He knew revealing the truth about Letty too soon would destroy his chances of getting Dom to cooperate, as his only focus would, naturally, be on his former love.

Ten months ago, when U.S. Customs Agent Monica Fuentes had shown him the file – the one that contained the picture of a "ghost" – he couldn't believe his luck. Sources at the time had Intel indicating that Toretto was hiding out in the South Pacific – along with his sister and O'Conner. The same sources indicated that he occasionally visited the Brazilian cop – the one with the nice smile, he remembered – down in Rio. Besides that, there had been no trace of the ex-con.

Luke had originally set out to track down and apprehend Ortiz. He had hoped to use her to lure in the elusive Toretto. But, after following the team and seeing the absolute destruction they left in their wake, he had resolved that bringing Owen Shaw to justice was more important than his petty need to mark Toretto off of his personal wanted list.

In the grand scheme of things, what had Toretto really done to deserve being on top of the FBI's Most Wanted list? Yes, he had assaulted and nearly killed a man – Kenny Linder. Hobbs had thrown that one in his face, but Toretto had done his time for that crime. The illegal street racing and the hijacking of expensive electronics were certainly not noble deeds, but he'd never been violent to any of the innocent people involved. And yes, he'd also escaped police custody – but only after he was refused the pardon promised to him after helping O'Connor bring down the notorious drug trafficker, Arturo Braga.

There were other incidents, including the oil tanker robbery in the Dominican Republic and the incredible take-down of the biggest name in Rio – Hernan Reyes. But he'd stolen the gas and redistributed it to the poor; and he'd called Reyes' bluff and toppled his corrupt hold on Rio – while stealing his money, of course. But how did that make him a monster? Heck, most of the people in the D.R. and Rio considered him a hero for his deeds.

Initially, Dominic Toretto had just been a name put on his desk. He had been responsible for the death of three DEA agents, and Hobbs was assigned to take him down. But, as Hobbs had discovered, Reyes' men were responsible for the deaths – he'd known that the minute Dom saved his life when he could have easily left him for dead. Truthfully, Dom taking down Reyes' men had been a public service.

Luke was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts by the ringing of his cell phone.

"Hobbs," he answered.

"We've got a problem…" a voice stated.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Leticia Ortiz sat in the back seat of a military-style jeep, eyeing her cohorts in the front seat. Denlinger, the driver, was a smaller-framed black man with a permanent scowl on his face and a personality to match. Seated beside him was Jah, an Asian who was lethally skilled in martial arts. They were both sitting silently, focused on Owen and awaiting his signal.

Her eyes fell to her feet. She wondered to herself how she had gotten to this point – how she had gone from illegal street racing, to robbing trucks, to… _this_. Owen told her she was a natural. Her determination during training – combat fighting, shooting, and military strategy – did not go unnoticed. She was damn good at everything she did.

She could play the blame game – and she did, sometimes – but she knew better. She had made her own choices… most of them in the name of love. _Love._ What a load. If there was one piece of valuable information that she had learned during her time with Owen and his team, it was that she was better off caring for herself than for anyone else. Love had only made her weak-kneed and worthless. Besides, there was only so much one person could take before they just had to let go.

It was funny, she thought, how love was the very thing that led her to where she was now…

FLASHBACK

_Letty eyed the club scene from her seat at the bar. She was alone, sipping a beer in one of Arturo Braga's nightclubs. She had just been recruited as a driver by Braga's right-hand man, Ramon Campos. She had easily acquired her spot, gaining the attention of Campos and a fellow driver, Fenix Calderon. They had treated her to booze and VIP access for the night._

_Drinking. Dancing. Skanks. The typical after-party scene. Fuck, what was she doing here?_

_Running into O'Connor a few weeks prior had been more than just a surprise. He'd shown up at a street race in LA, falling right back in as he'd done before. The scene had changed, and so had the people – very few still remained that had been around during his last undercover endeavor. Even so, no one had recognized the once baby-faced, curly headed blonde. Even Letty had to admit that the Buster had aged well._

_The Buster. She really couldn't fault Brian. He'd only been doing his job – he'd never bargained that he'd fall for Mia and find a friend in Dom. Hell, he'd found a friend in all of them – with the exception of Vince, of course. But he'd saved Vince's life, rectified Jesse's death by killing Tran, let Dom free, and refused to testify against them… all things he didn't have to do. In all honesty, she was really surprised to see him still working in law enforcement._

_Throwing caution to the wind, she had approached him and they had talked – really talked – and eventually, made a deal._

_And now here she was, trying to blend in and gather information on Braga's organization to ..._

"_Nice race."_

_In the corner of her eye, Letty saw a man sit down beside her. She groaned inwardly, taking another swig of her beer._

"_Thanks," she said curtly, never looking up. Man, she didn't feel like putting her fist to work tonight._

"_Owen Shaw," the man said, extending his hand to her. This time, Letty caught the lace of a British accent._

_Still, she had to fight rolling her eyes as she finally turned to him._

_She certainly wasn't expecting what she saw. He was a handsome man, dressed in a suit, clean-shaven except for a thin mustache, and flashing a nice set of pearly white teeth._

_She immediately wondered if he was lost. He seemed so out of place._

"_Letty," she finally offered, shaking his hand. "Letty Ortiz."_

_He nodded at her. "Nice to meet you."_

_Letty watched as he waved a bartender over and ordered a foreign beer._

"_So," he began, popping the top on his beer, "what's a girl like you doing trying to work for the likes of Braga?"_

_His question caught her off guard. She laughed nervously as his eyes searched hers – it was almost like he was trying to see inside her soul. She couldn't remember the last time someone had unnerved her like this._

"_Wouldn't you like to know?" she finally answered with a cocked eyebrow. She refused to let him get to her._

_Owen's expression became smug. "You sure it doesn't have anything to do with the FBI?"_

_Letty's stomach flipped. Had Braga already caught on to her? Had he sent Owen over to sniff her out? What the hell was going on?_

_It took everything she had to remain composed under his stare._

"_I've got nothing to do with the Feds."_

"_That so?" he countered abruptly, his tone causing goosebumps to erupt on her flesh. "Let me just tell you one thing, Letty... if I were you, I'd watch my back… from Braga AND the FBI."_

_He tossed a few bills on the countertop next to his nearly full beer and stood up from his seat. Letty sat silently, stunned. She watched as Owen made his way over to a table where Campos was sitting, shaking his hand and motioning for him to follow._

"Letty… Letty! Snap out of it."

She was quickly drawn out of her thoughts by Jah shaking her shoulder. She tried to hide her dazed expression.

"C'mon, get it together," Denlinger snapped, pulling a black beanie over his head. "It's go time!"

"A'right," Letty said, rolling her shoulders. "Let's do this."

_This_ was her life now. _Ride or die._

* * *

Agent Luke Hobbs was standing in the middle of Lambeth Bridge in London, observing the desolation before him. His new partner, Agent Riley, was standing beside him, her expression unintelligible. They watched as investigators combed the scene. Rescue teams continued to bring covered bodies to waiting Coroner's vans, while fireman continued to extinguish flames from wrecked vehicles.

_A bridge. A fucking bridge during rush hour traffic, in broad fuckin' daylight_, Luke thought to himself, shaking his head. _Toretto and his team better bring their A-game…_


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Dom spent the remainder of the day and most of the night studying the file. He still couldn't believe Hobbs had come to him – had actually asked him for his help. He knew the stakes couldn't be any higher, so he wanted to know absolutely everything about the job before going to his team.

After finally catching a little sleep, he decided he needed to talk to the one man who might actually listen and understand – his brother-in-law and ex-cop, Brian O'Connor. He decided against calling ahead and made the drive to Brian and Mia's place, arriving around lunch time. He knocked lightly on the door – he knew from previous experience that just walking in wasn't a good idea.

Brian answered the door, chewing on a fry.

"Hey man, what's up? Elena left already?" Brian asked, looking around. He gave him a knowing smile.

Dom hadn't really prepared himself for that question.

"Uhhh, yeah… she, uh, had to go back home… to a – a case she's uhhh…"

"Ha, ha, ha!" Brian laughed. "I knew it! I knew it! I told your sister that it wouldn't stick!"

He boasted a self-satisfied smile. "Looks like she's on diaper duty by herself all of next week." He patted Dom on the back. "Thanks man!"

"What?" Dom asked. "You guys are using my nephew as a wager? You should be ashamed of yourselves."

"Hey, it was her idea," Brian said, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "She said there wasn't any point in betting money, so that's what she came up with."

Dom followed Brian into the house, shaking his head.

"You know," Brian said as he made his way into the kitchen, "it still amazes me how you always show up just in time for food. I swear, Mia's always making extras just in case you show up."

He smiled. "Come on in Dom. Come talk to your sister."

Dom's expression faltered. "Actually, you think you and I could talk outside? Alone?"

Sensing the mood change, Brian agreed. "Uhh, yeah, sure. Let me just grab us a couple of plates and beers, and I'll be right out."

Dom walked outside, planting himself in a large wicker chair in front of the house. He laid the file he'd been holding onto the table in front of him, resting his head in his hands.

"Why do I get the feeling that I'm not going to like what you have to tell me?"

Brian sat a plate and a beer in front of Dom, and seated himself across him.

"Hobbs came to see me yesterday," Dom stated calmly.

Brian's jaw dropped. "WHAT?!"

"He came to me – to ask for our help with a case he's working on," Dom continued lowly, sliding the file in Brian's direction. He briefed Brian on the DSS agent's strange and surprising request as Brian browsed silently through the file.

"Damn, is he serious?" Brian finally asked aloud. "He really wants us to work for him?"

"Yeah."

"This looks like some serious shit, Dom. A former special-ops soldier? Robbing military convoys?" Brian shook his head, massaging his temples. "I don't know about this, man. I mean, I get the whole helping out for the greater good, but I've got a wife and kid here to think about now. I'm not sure this is worth it."He paused. "What are you thinking?"

Dom sighed. "I don't know. On the one hand, we definitely don't need this shit. All of us are set for life and we don't have to put our lives in danger anymore. But on the other hand, can we really let this go? Knowing that it's probably going to get worse, and that we could've done something to prevent it?"

"What about Hobbs, Dom? Do you think we can work with him – that we can trust him?" Brian asked, still unconvinced.

"I think so. He did help us in Rio." Dom's brow furrowed. "I do think there's something that he's not telling us, though. From the exchange we had yesterday, I got the feeling that there was more to this whole deal than what he led on… but I'm clueless at to what it could be about."

"What do you suggest we do then?" Brian asked.

"Well, according to the file, some members of Shaw's crew have apparently been in street races all across Europe. I was thinking of maybe going to London – that's where they were last seen. Maybe Han could hook me up and help me find the races over there. And… I don't know… I guess I'll play it by ear and see what comes out of it once I'm there."

"That's a start, I guess," Brian said, sipping his beer. "In the meantime, I can do some more research from here – try to find out more about this team and the jobs they've pulled—"

"What are you two talking about?" Mia's voice interrupted him.

Dom looked to Brian, hesitance in his expression.

"I'm sorry Dom," Brian said, turning to face Mia. "But Mia and I made a promise that we wouldn't keep things from each other."

Dom nodded his understanding, but his expression remained doubtful as Brian continued.

"Hobbs came to see Dom to ask for his – our – help in one of his cases."

Mia's eyebrows rose in shock, her arms crossing firmly across her chest and her expression turning into a frown as her husband filled her in on the case. She felt instantly torn, knowing that, for once, this was not a selfish, juvenile plan of her brother's to make fast money – he was actually contemplating this to redeem himself. But yet, she couldn't fathom losing her husband or her brother. She just didn't think she could take it.

"All right," she stated calmly after her husband finished speaking. "As long as both of you are being honest with me, I'll trust you two to make the right decisions for this family." She paused. "But I'll tell you this right now… I know how both of you are… if this turns out to be some death-defying or suicidal mission, I trust that both of you will walk away… before I have to lose another family member…" Her voice had suddenly become shaky. "Are we clear?"

Dom nodded, avoiding eye contact.

"Don't worry Mi, nothing like that's gonna happen," Brian assured her.

"I'll believe it when I see it," Mia mumbled under her breath, retreating into the house.

Dom cleared his throat. "All right, so I'll get in touch with Han – try and find out where this team might be racing. You see what you can find out about them and what it's gonna take to stop them. We'll put our heads together after that and talk it over with the others – then we'll call Hobbs with our answer," he said, rising from the chair.

"A'right. Keep me posted on your whereabouts… or you know Mia will have both of our heads," Brian said with a knowing smile. "And I'll let you know if I come up with anything."

Dom nodded. "A'right."

He walked past Brian, and went straight to where he knew his baby sister would be. She was in her son's room, cradling him against her chest protectively. He said nothing, kissing her cheek and his nephew on the top of the head. Her apprehension at the situation had not gone unnoticed, and this was his way of telling her everything would be all right.

As he made his way to his car, he heard Brian shout out to him.

"Yo, Dom!"

He turned around expectantly.

Brian was wearing a huge grin, dangling a set of car keys out in front of him. "Double or nothing?"


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

After making a call to his friend and partner-in-crime, Han Lue, Dom discovered that Han already knew about Owen Shaw. While he didn't know him personally, he knew a lot about him. He also knew one of his crew members – an Asian man named Jah, who, according to the DSS file, was a cold-blooded killer who specialized in martial arts.

Han had explained that he and Jah had both lived in the same school district in Tustin, California. They had known of each other from an early age, but never really associated with one another until they discovered the race scene. They eventually became part of the same crew, but even after that, they never really talked. They didn't have much in common outside of racing – Jah had always been serious and withdrawn, while Han had been sarcastic and social. And while Han had crossed paths with him from time to time, mostly at major street racing events, he hadn't seen Jah in a few years.

Dom had briefed Han and his girlfriend, Gisele Harabo, on Hobbs' mission. Han was pretty confident – after making a few calls to some of his insiders – that Jah was no longer in London, but hiding out somewhere near Glasgow with his crew. Han's insiders also informed him of the scene in Glasgow. They held races every other week – and the next one was coming up in two days. Han offered for Dom to meet him and Giselle there, as he was confident getting into this scene was a sure-fire way to get close to Jah.

So just three days after his meeting with Hobbs, Dom found himself at the Glasgow Airport, searching for Han. He couldn't help constantly looking behind his back – he still wondered if this whole deal was some sort of trap set by Hobbs to lure him in and take him into custody.

As he stepped outside, he knew right away which car belonged to his friend. A black BMW 7 Series was parked to his right. He saw Han leaning against it, munching on something as usual.

"Long time-no see, my friend," greeted the Asian man.

"Han," Dom said, giving his friend a firm shake and hug. "How've you been?"

"Not bad, not bad," Han answered. "Shall we?" he asked as he walked over to the driver's side of his car.

"Nice ride," Dom commented as he got into the passenger's seat.

"Don't get too attached – it's mine," Han said with a grin. "We've got to find you something soon – the races are tomorrow night."

Dom nodded, returning the smile. They rode for a few minutes in silence until Han spoke again.

"Dom, I need to tell you something… Giselle and I were trying to look up some stuff on this Owen Shaw. When we came across a picture of him, she recognized him as a business associate of Campos – well, _Braga_."

Dom's eyebrows rose in surprise. He hadn't expected to hear that name again.

"She said she saw him a few times; nothing regular. But," Han's voice lowered, "the last time she saw him was around the time Letty was recruited…"

A shadow of hurt flashed across Dom's face at the mention of his former love, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"Does she know what kind of business they were doing together?" Dom asked.

"No. Braga and Shaw never discussed business in front of anyone," Han answered. "She thought he was some kind of detective on Braga's payroll. Now… she's not so sure."

Dom pondered this for a moment.

"A'right," he finally said. "I'll check with Brian – he was in charge of the Braga case when he was rollin' with the Feds – and I'll see if this makes any sense to him. For now, let's concentrate on finding this Jah –he's our link to Shaw."

"Then let's go car shopping," Han replied with a wink.

* * *

Letty stood in the garage, her body leaned over the front of Denlinger's jeep. The week's events were still weighing heavily on her mind, and she had hoped keeping her nose under the hood would silence her thoughts. She just couldn't shake the melancholy feeling in her gut, one that had not gone away since their latest mission at Lambeth Bridge. It had been so brutal—so _unnecessary_.

"I can hear your thoughts all the way over here."

Letty jumped slightly at Owen's voice. She hadn't heard him enter the garage. He walked over to her slowly, his eyes burning the back of her neck. She knew he was studying her silently, and it unnerved her. Sometimes, she wondered if he really could read her thoughts.

"Just have a lot on my mind," she murmured, trying to mask her discomfort.

She struggled with something in the engine compartment, beads of sweat starting to form on her forehead. She felt Owen brush past her, his hand tracing the side of the jeep.

"_Sacrifices_ have to be made in order for us to achieve what we've set out to do, Letty," he said, his voice void of emotion. "You knew that when you agreed to work with us… are you having second thoughts?"

Letty finally stood upright, turning to face him. "No… of course not." She sighed, wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. "It's just—was it necessary to take that convoy down in the middle of that bridge? We could have waited until they were further north and—"

"C'mon, Letty," Shaw interrupted her, agitation quickly building in his voice. "You knew the plan. They have more security when they're isolated. They were vulnerable on the bridge."

"But we already had everything we needed to—"

"Enough!" Owen shouted, slamming his hands down on the jeep, causing Letty to flinch. She saw the muscles in his face twitch as he took a deep breath.

"What is it that you actually _want_ Letty?" His voice was barely above a whisper now. "Do you want out? Do you want to go back to being _alone_? Where nobody wanted you or needed you?"

Her eyes squeezed shut. He was standing right next to her now, his breath in her ear.

"They all left you behind, Letty. Your family – they've all forgotten about you. They _never_ came looking for you or wondered what happened to you. They all moved on – they're all _happy_. You were _nothing_ before me… I saved you. I _made_ you who you are…"

He points a threatening finger at her temple.

"…and _I_ can _crush_ you whenever I want to."

Letty lowered her head, her fists clenched tightly by her waist.

"Now," he began, his voice and demeanor suddenly calm, "I had Jah pick up the new performance parts you wanted for the Jensen. Once you're finished with the jeep, you can start working on your own car."

He turned and walked out of the garage.

"_Fuck_," Letty murmured, kicking at one of the jeep's tires.


	6. Chapter 6 - Part 1

CHAPTER SIX – PART 1

Dom pulled his customized 1970 Dodge Charger Daytona through the dark, narrow passageway of the open stone coliseum, followed closely by Han's BMW 7 Series. Bright stage lights lit the scene inside of the coliseum and Dom was immediately enamored. Beautiful cars of every shape, size, and color amassed around a huge, elevated dancing stage littered with scantily clad women and encompassed by eye-catching cars showcased on a literal merry-go-round. It looked every bit like a racer's heaven.

Dom was joined by Han and Giselle as he started to make his way through the crowd. Before they managed to reach the stage, a voice called out to them. "Can we help you?"

Dom turned to see a sizable man approaching them. It was immediately obvious to him by the way the crowd reacted that he was looking at the man in charge.

"Ah, we're just looking for some races," Dom answered. "Heard there were some decent drivers around here."

"Yeah?" the man questioned suspiciously. "Where'd you hear that?"

"From a friend of ours," Han interjected. "Jah—you heard of him?"

"Yeah, I know Jah," the man replied. "Didn't know that guy had any friends," he added, chuckling. The crowd around them seemed to wholeheartedly agree and Han laughed in response.

"A'right," he continued, "as long as you guys don't make any trouble and your money's good, you're welcome to buy-in. Tonight's a special night. We have a line-up of three races, each a half a mile long and each in a different location. The buy-ins are 5 grand for the first, 10 grand for the second, and 15 grand for the third."

He pulled some papers from his jacket pocket. "This will tell you where each race is being held and the itinerary. There are no rules. You can use whatever's under your hood and in your car—"

"Except guns!" a man shouted from the crowd, patting the man beside him on the back, laughing at what appeared to be an inside joke between the two.

"Yeah, except guns," the man in charge continued. "You buy-in with me. I get the money up front, and you come back to me to collect if you win." He extended his hand to Dom. "My name is Chris, by the way."

Dom shook his hand and offered his name, followed by Giselle and Han.

"Well, a'right then. I've got a full line-up for the first race. The next one should be in about half an hour – let me know if you want in."

* * *

Tucked away from the main scene, Letty leaned against her modified Jensen Interceptor, anxiously waiting for her turn to race. Jah, who was sitting alone in his blue Nissan GT-R R35, was her only company. He was distant and unfriendly, but Letty was almost thankful for him. It was their common passion that allowed her to be here. Jah was a race junkie, just like herself, and his presence allowed hers – as she knew Owen would never let her go anywhere by herself.

Jah, as usual, had bought in on the first race – something he had always done, no matter where they were or who they were racing. Letty usually bought in on the second race – it allowed her to have time to herself before she was expected back at the hideout.

And God knows she needed that tonight. She had enough pent-up frustrations from her run-in with Owen the day before. She knew racing would help channel some of those frustrations. And a fight would be good, too. _Or sex._ Yeah, a good fuck would do her some good. She wondered if Ryan would be around tonight. She laughed out loud suddenly – _of course_ he would be here. He was the Race King of Glasgow, after all. And he was always very eager to help her scratch that itch. Yeah, she was going to find him after her race – and maybe punch one or two of his skanks just for good measure.

_Yeah, her night was suddenly appearing much more promising…_

* * *

"So, you're a friend of Jah, huh?"

A petite brunette had latched herself onto Dom's arm and was gazing up at him appreciatively.

"Something like that," he answered indifferently, watching the first wave of drivers preparing to leave.

"That's him leaving, right? In the blue car?"

The brunette pointed at a blue Nissan GT-R. The driver's side window was rolled down slightly and Dom caught a quick glimpse of an Asian man as the car pulled away.

"Ah, shit!" Dom groaned, nearly shrugging the girl off. "Damn it! I can't believe we missed him!"

He settled back against his car with an exasperated sigh. "I guess we'll have to wait for him to come back for his payout."

"Oh, baby, he won't be back," the brunette stated matter-of-factly. "He never comes back after a race. His girl always takes his money when he wins."

"His girl?" Dom questioned.

"Well, she's not actually _his_ girl –at least, I don't think so. They just always show up together," she said, shrugging. "Besides, she's fucking Ryan Kingsley – and I don't think he cares to share," she added with a laugh.

She pointed towards the stage. "That's her right there with Chris."

Dom looked in the direction of her finger and saw a dark-haired woman with her back turned to them talking to the bookkeeper.

"She's racing next," the brunette continued. "She's one of the best around here. Always wins – even against Ryan that one time."

Dom looked on as the woman walked back to her car. He couldn't see her face, and for some reason, that bothered him. She definitely stood out in the crowd – she was wearing a black wife beater, a pair of skin tight pants, and combat boots.

_She didn't look like any of the racer chasers, but more like…_

No, he wouldn't go there. He did find it strange, though, that Hobbs had never mentioned a woman in the file on Shaw and his team. If she was always with Jah, why was there no information on her?

As the dark-haired woman made her way to her car, Dom exchanged a quick look to Han. He pushed the brunette from his side and made his way through the crowd over to Chris. He handed him a thick wad of rubber banded bills.

"I want to buy-in in this race," Dom said.

Chris chuckled. "You're just in time my friend. Go right ahead."


	7. Chapter 6 - Part 2

CHAPTER SIX – PART 2

Dom couldn't shake the strange feeling he felt as he fired up the Charger. He watched as a red Lotus Evora and a blue Subaru BRZ joined the gray Jensen Interceptor at the starting line. He felt oddly at war with himself as he pulled parallel between them, with the Interceptor abreast his right side.

_Why was he doing this?_

Jah was gone, and there was no sign of the rest of his team. He could say he'd bought into the race to blend in and to gain information – but he wasn't so sure that was the whole truth. As he looked to his right, trying with vain effort to catch a glimpse of the woman's face through her cascade of long, ebony hair, he knew there was something about _her_ that bothered him. And he had to find out what it was.

A small crowd had gathered near the starting line. Chris, who had been corresponding to someone on a two-way, gave the signal that everything was ready to roll. Dom quickly looked over the itinerary, noting that this race was anything but typical – it involved twists, turns, and a main road that he was fairly certain was not blocked off. He shoved the paper into his jacket pocket as a scantily-clad flag girl placed herself between his car and the Jensen. He shifted the Charger into neutral, eased off the clutch, and revved the motor. It had been a long time since he'd been behind the wheel in an actual street race – racing Brian in their backyard in the South Pacific just wasn't quite the same.

After establishing eye contact with all of the drivers, the flag girl lifted her hands into the air. Dom could feel his whole body responding with adrenaline as he hit the "Shuffle" button on his iPod, Bad Meets Evil's "Fast Lane" wailing from the coaxial.

"_Ride or die_."

The flag girl dropped her hands.

Dom floored it. The Charger rose from the asphalt, lurching forward with raw power. Tires screaming, engine roaring, and the smell of asphalt hit him all at once.

As the Charger fell back to the pavement, Dom could see that the Interceptor had nosed slightly ahead of him, the Lotus holding at her rear quarter panel, while the BRZ pulled up the rear. He quickly had the needle halfway around the speed dial as he fought for the lead against her – and she, in turn, floored it.

He found himself at her bumper and tried to lapse her. She eased her car into his path. He tried again, but she moved in front of him again, anticipating his every move. Normally, he would admire her for her driving ability, but all he could feel was his blood starting to boil.

Into the first turn, Dom was able to gain a place on the inside. By the second turn of the circuit, he had finally managed to slip up on the inside, almost neck to neck with her. The road opened up into a two-way street, and by the third turn, the BRZ and the Lotus were thrown off pace by merging traffic, quickly losing their momentum.

Dom watched tensely as the Interceptor swerved into the opposite lane of traffic to lapse a car in its immediate path. As he did the same, he noticed the driver of the car slap something magnetic on his roof. He realized they had just passed an unmarked police car as flashing lights suddenly appeared in his rear-view mirror.

They continued to dodge and dart intrepidly through traffic, quickly approaching the main street. He had anticipated for her to slow down or bail out, but instead, her back tires locked up in unison with his, and side-by-side, they drifted flawlessly, and daringly, into oncoming traffic, eluding the unmarked squad car as they narrowly missed a double-decker bus.

Once on the long straightaway, Dom could make out two marked cruisers, lights flashing and sirens blaring, parked nose to nose like a gate, in the middle of the roadway. He carved a hard left onto a small, one-way street. The Interceptor, undaunted by the road block, opened the throttle, barreling on.

Dom floored it to the one-way's dead end, hanging an immediate right and punching the accelerator, now parallel with the main road. He could see flashes of openings to the main road as he passed more in-between streets. He finally saw the flashing lights of the police cruisers as he passed yet another – he also caught a glimpse of a gray flash. The Interceptor's driver had apparently brazenly hit the sidewalk to avoid the road block.

He smirked to himself. "I got one for ya."

He hit the very next connecting road, swinging wide to the left, roaring out in front of the Interceptor's path. He banged the gearshift into neutral, and yanked up the parking brake, putting the Charger into a slight tailspin. Gunning the gas and shifting into reverse, his car was now aimed point-blank at the Interceptor. His gaze quickly alternated between his rear window and his rear-view mirror as he prepared to circuit the Charger again.

As his hand grasped the shifter, his eyes cut away for a split second to chance a glance at the Interceptor's mysterious driver.

His heart stopped. _His world stopped._

_**That face. God, that face.**_

His mind reacted frantically, as if it were trying to wake him from a dream, unable to process what – _who_ – he was seeing. The implication was entirely too much to bear and he refused to acknowledge it, blinking hard before peeling his eyes away from her to regain control of the Charger.

In a sudden, decisive action, the Interceptor changed course and drifted sharply onto a side street, barreling away from him with a shot of nitrous oxide.

The move sent a shockwave of desperation through Dom, and he slammed on the brakes, utterly enraged, the Charger's tires spinning in place as he immediately shifted out of reverse.

Darkness encased the road as he frantically pursued her fleeting tail lights. He was gaining on her quickly, and nearly reached her rear bumper when a second shot of NOS sent the Interceptor flying ahead of him for the second time.

"_Oh, __**hell**__ no!_" he roared, hitting his own shot in response, determined not to lose her.

He'd already lost all sense of sanity and rationality. _He was chasing a fucking ghost, for Christ's sake, and he didn't fucking care._

He approached her rear quarter panel, his hands stark white against the steering wheel as he anticipated another glimpse of her. He couldn't see her face, only her hair blowing fiercely in the wind, and her hand reaching out for…

He suddenly sensed her next move, hitting his shot of NOS in perfect unison with her.

The Charger shot forward, bringing him side-by-side with her, and he steeled himself to look again.

When he did, he was again struck with a feeling so intensely paralyzing that he couldn't breathe. The very face that had haunted his dreams every night and day for almost two years was now right before his eyes, staring straight ahead with a look of determination and fierceness he'd never seen before.

Out of the vast darkness, a trail of lights abruptly appeared in the corner of his vision. He quickly cut his eyes back to the road to see that they were hastily approaching the faint outline of a bridge, its lights reflecting against dark waters below. Despite this, the Interceptor showed no signs of slowing down. A burning sensation ripped through his chest. He knew something drastic needed to happen. _Now._

His foot pressed the gas into the floor and he could feel the steering wheel shaking under his grip. He thundered past her, sliding his car directly in front of her. His eyes rose to his rear-view mirror, the headlights of the Interceptor disappearing as it nosed the rear of the Charger. His eyes squeezed shut and he slammed on the brakes. He had anticipated a collision, but the Interceptor jerked to side, drifting to the brink of the road, stopping just shy of a metal railing.

Dom felt like he was hyperventilating as the dust settled around them. For the first time in his entire life, he felt scared to death. _What if he was crazy – what if __**she**__ was all in his head?_ He didn't think he could survive the disappointment of looking into this woman's eyes and realizing she was just a stranger and that his mind was simply playing cruel tricks on him.

It took every ounce of his willpower to open the Charger's door. As he did, he could see the Interceptor's door opening in unison. He saw the feminine figure get out slowly and he followed suit, his eyes never leaving her. She held her head down as she eased to the back of the car, finally leaning her body against it. Without even realizing it, he moved closer and closer to her, mesmerized.

He was close enough to reach out and touch her when he finally stopped. He willed her to look at him. As if she could read his mind, she finally lifted her head and looked directly into his eyes. Dom inhaled a sharp breath.

_There she was. Standing right in front of him in pure, high-definition Technicolor. Not a dream. Not a stranger. Living and breathing. His __**Letty**_…


	8. Chapter 6 - Part 3

CHAPTER SIX - PART 3

Dom couldn't believe it. _**She**_ was standing right in front of him. _**His Letty**_ – the _only_ woman he'd ever loved, besides his grandmother, mother, and sister. _Thousands_ of times he'd contemplated what he would say to her if ever given the chance. And yet, here he was, absolutely speechless as she stood less than two feet from him – _not in Heaven and not in a dream_… but in the _flesh_.

The torrent of emotion he felt as he looked into her eyes was unbearable. The familiarity was gone. Her expression was neither angry nor surprised; instead, her ambience was calm and collected. _Like she had expected this moment._ He took a small step towards her, heart pounding in his chest, his hand reaching out to touch her – _to make sure she was really there_. He saw her flinch and he quickly recoiled.

Agony ripped through his body like a supersonic bullet. In that very moment, he'd felt like he'd lost her all over again. He wanted so badly to _feel_ her, grab her and hold her, bury his face into her hair, kiss her lips… _and she couldn't even bare his touch_. He watched as she bowed her head, letting out a resigned sigh.

He swallowed hard, his voice gruff and barely above a whisper. "How is this possible? _How are you standing here?_"

Her expression was dead.

"_Where have you been?_" he nearly cried, exasperated.

She remained void of emotion. He felt the sudden, inexplicable urge to yell, unable to combat his haywire emotions anymore.

"_**They buried you! I saw your casket… murdered… there was… nothing left of your car… I… saw… **_"

His words ran together in a jumbled, defeated heap. Letty offered no words, her expression remaining stoic.

"I'm sorry," he finally whispered, his eyes squeezing shut. "I left you… _I'm so sorry._"

His deep, baritone voice was reduced to a remorseful breath, void of its usual certainty and pride.

"_I love you._"

Those simple words had been foreign in their relationship. Implied, yet implicit, they now fell impulsively from his lips. His eyes grew soft and luminous as he saw that those very words had hit her, finally breaking through her impassive stance.

His greatest regret in life had been the fact that he had not told her this enough, not _shown_ her enough. He had turned his back on her when she had needed him the most and he had never forgiven himself for it. He had never been a man to shed many tears, but the constant cascade of grief after losing her had eternally broken his spirit. Other women could satisfy his _needs_, but they could never _heal_ his soul or _complete_ his heart.

He watched as her shoulders finally fell in surrender. She locked eyes with his and her lips slowly began to part…

A bright stream of light suddenly appeared between them, startling them both. Dom squinted into the darkness as a car came to a stop less than 20 feet from them. He watched cautiously as the silhouette of a man exited the car, approaching them brazenly. Out of the corner of his eye, Dom could see Letty noticeably stiffen.

"Well, well, well," came a reproachful British accent. "What do we have here?"

The man stepped outside of the beams of his headlights and Dom immediately knew he was looking at Owen Shaw – the very man he'd been sent to capture. Although he was a man of average size and stature, Dom was struck by his sinister aura. He was especially concerned by Letty's reaction to his presence.

Without waiting for a reply, Shaw, standing about 5 feet away, turned to Letty. "How was the race? I was starting to get worried when I didn't see you cross that line."

Letty couldn't bring her gaze to meet his. "I… got a little sidetracked," she mumbled.

"I can see that," Shaw deadpanned, his gaze turning to Dom.

Dom's eyes darkened in response. He could almost feel the _evil_ emanating from the man.

"Dominic Toretto," Shaw bit out.

Dom's eyebrows rose in surprise. _How did he know who he was?_

"I'm sure you're aware of who I am," Shaw continued. "So, how about you tell me why you're here?"

"Just catching up with an old friend," Dom responded dryly, eyeing Letty.

"Friend?"

"Yeah," Dom continued. "Thought maybe we'd go for a ride. Catch up a little."

Shaw leaned his head to the side, letting out a sinister chuckle. "I think not," he said coldly.

"I _think_ she'll decide for herself," Dom replied gruffly through gritted teeth.

"_Dom…_"

Letty's voice, the ghost of a whisper, laced with tense warning, addressed him for the first time. He saw a flash of uneasiness fall across her features.

"Why don't you do right by her for a change and _leave_, Dominic?" Shaw prodded.

Dom's jaw tensed, his expression turning dark. "You must have me confused with someone else. I don't take orders from _nobody_," he replied tersely.

"Oh, I _know_ who you are," Shaw stated matter-of-factly. "This code you live by, makes you predictable. And in our line of work, predictable means vulnerable." He chuckled. "I think _you're_ the one confused here, Dominic. _I can reach out and break you whenever I want._"

Dom was almost amused. "That's dangerous talk."

"Well, what can I say? I'm a dangerous man." He cast a meaningful glare in Letty's direction. "I think we've wasted enough of our time here. Let's go."

Dom was stunned to see Letty directly heed his command. Panic rose within him as she opened the door to her car, not offering him another look.

Feeding off of his desperation, Owen turned to him one last time.

"Give my regards to Hobbs," he said, pocketing his hands into his coat. "_And Officer Neves_," he added with a smug smile before retreating to his car.

Dom felt like his mind was exploding. _How did he know about Hobbs? And Elena? God, did Letty know, too?_ For what felt like the millionth time that night, he felt his heart shatter in his chest.

* * *

Letty followed Owen's car back to the hideout on autopilot. Her mind was racing ninety to nothing – she just couldn't comprehend what had just happened. Why had Dom said those things to her? He'd always been a smooth talker, and she'd always believed him… always. But now, she knew better than to trust him. In the years she'd been running with Owen, he'd shown her who Dominic Toretto _really was_… and _what she really was to him._ And ever since, she'd made a promise to herself that she would never fall for Dom's lies – _or him_ – ever again.


	9. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

Dom stood motionless, staring blankly into the distance where he'd just watched Letty's – and Shaw's – taillights disappear into the darkness.

For the first time that night, he felt nothing. He felt absolutely numb. He'd been blindsided by a million and one emotions, and he just didn't know what to think anymore – except for the small detail about the last 18 months of his life being a complete lie…

As if on autopilot, he got into his car and pulled back onto the road. He wasn't sure where he was headed and he didn't really care. Driving would allow him to collect his thoughts – to try and make sense of… _God, make sense of __**what**__?_ Letty was _alive_… how much sense could _that_ possibly make?

So, somehow, she hadn't been killed by Fenix. And now she was running with Owen Shaw – the same man that was responsible for… _God, how could she take part in that?_ What had happened to her to make her so… cold-hearted? Why was she involved with him? The DSS file certainly missed out on this particular detail…

_Shit! Hobbs!_

He'd been set up! Suddenly, there was no doubt in his mind that Hobbs had known about Letty. And that was why, instead of enlisting his own team, Hobbs had come to him to seek his help. All of that "for the greater good" bullshit was just that… _bullshit_. Hobbs knew Dom was the connection he needed, knowing if given the chance, he'd move Heaven and Earth to get Letty back… and it looked like he'd have to go through Shaw first.

Dom suddenly felt anger bubbling inside of him. Had he been able to think properly, he would have realized that the last time he'd felt like this was right before he took that torque wrench to Kenny Linder's face.

His free hand went to his jacket pocket, hastily searching for his cell phone. He quickly punched a speed-dial button on his home screen, pulling the phone to his ear.

The line rang twice before being answered by an anxious voice. "What's wrong?"

"Did you know?" Dom asked darkly, his voice barely above a whisper.

Brian eased off of the bed he shared with Mia, trying not to wake her.

"What?" he whispered as he left the room. "Dom, are you all right? Did I know what? What's going on?"

Dom squeezed the cell phone hard, almost as if it symbolized Brian's head. "_Letty_, Brian. Did you know about Letty?" he asked through gritted teeth, his voice raising.

Brian was completely puzzled. "Dom, _what_? I… I don't know what you're talking about. What about Letty?"

"_I just saw her!_" Dom yelled, his baritone voice taking on an almost maniacal tone. "She's alive, Brian – all this time, she's been alive and you never fucking told me!"

Brian froze. Did he just say she was _alive_? He really needed to wake up…

"Dom… I…" His voice fell to a bewildered whisper. "God, I didn't know. _I swear I didn't know._"

Dom became enraged, slamming his free hand against the steering wheel. "_Don't fucking lie to me, Brian!_ I just saw her! She was standing right in front of me… I could almost touch her…" His voice started to falter a little then.

Brian swallowed hard, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Jesus, Dom, I swear I didn't know. I swear on Mia and Gabriel…" He paused, rubbing his temples. "I mean, shit, I was _there_…at the crash site…I saw her fuckin' car upside down in _flames_, Dom. I…I even saw the body. Read the autopsy report and everything. _Fuck, Dom…what the hell happened tonight?_"

Dom let out a heavy sigh. "I…I don't know Brian. One minute I was racing this chick who was supposed to be part of Shaw's crew…and the next thing I know, I'm standing face to face with Letty."

"Part of Shaw's crew?" Brian asked.

"She's running with these guys, Brian," Dom said in a defeated tone. "And Shaw knows all about us… Hobbs and Elena, too."

"Jesus. We've gotta contact Hobbs," Brian said quickly.

"No!" Dom shouted fervently. Brian remained silent.

Lowering his voice, Dom continued, "We'll deal with him later. First, we've got to find out what he knows about this case. We'll get Tej to hack into the system and find out what he's hiding from us. I'll need you, him, and Rome to get down here. We'll set up base with everything we need to go after Shaw. And when we're ready…_then_ we'll call Hobbs."

"Okay. We'll be there by tomorrow." He sighed. "Dom, I have to tell Mia…"

Dom was silent for a moment. Finally, he said, "That's your call, Brian. But I don't want her getting mixed up in this. These guys are dangerous."

"We'll see you tomorrow," Brian repeated.

"Tomorrow," Dom confirmed, tossing his phone into the passenger seat.

Brian lowered the phone from his ear, falling heavily into a chair, staring into darkness. He put his head in his hands, barely able to comprehend his conversation with Dom.

He just didn't understand how she could be alive. While working on the Braga case, he and Letty had, in a way, bonded – had become quite close. He couldn't believe she hadn't told him she was alive. They had, after all, made a deal based on trust…

_FLASHBACK_

_Brian shared a seat next to Letty on the hood of her Plymouth Road Runner, a case of beer between them. After reminiscing on their past and filling each other in on the present, Brian tried vehemently to apologize for his role in tearing her family apart. Letty wouldn't accept it, telling him that if it hadn't been him, it would have been someone else – someone who wouldn't have let them get away, would have left Vince to die, and would have let Johnny Tran and his cousin get away. As far as she was concerned, the only person he owed an apology to, was Mia._

_As the first rays of light started to peek over the horizon, their conversation turned to their regrets. Brian had confessed to how he had always been torn between his "cop" family and his "street" family – but that he had never felt more at home than when he was accepted by Mia. He told her how much he still loved her and missed her. Letty showed her vulnerability, telling him how lost she felt and how alone she was, feeling like she didn't belong anywhere._

"_I just miss the old times when we were all together, you know," Letty had told him. "I'd do anything to get that back. Have all of them back here, working in the shop, hanging out by the store, going out to race and party… Sunday's barbeque... I just wish there was something I could do to bring them all home…"_

"_Funny thing is, you guys were never really in that much trouble…" _

_Letty had given him a blank look._

"_I refused to testify," Brian had continued. "And the driver of that semi never came forward."_

"_What?" Letty had asked with surprise evident in her voice. "What do you mean he never came forward? He saw Vince and Dom… prob'ly saw me before he swiped my ass… why would he not wanna fry us?" _

"_Well, apparently from the information obtained on that driver, if he'd called the cops, he would have been charged with owning an unregistered gun. You gave him a hell of a scare, I'm sure, but you didn't steal anything, so he probably felt like it wasn't worth the risk to press charges. Without me and the driver, the cops only had circumstantial evidence at best. Vince's blood wasn't even found on the truck – it had been washed and the window that had been shot out had been repaired before the cops took it in for evidence. And if Vince hadn't skipped bail and had gotten a good lawyer, he probably wouldn't have gotten much time, if anything at all. To be honest, I don't think it would take much for all of you to clear your names. At this point, I think it's more of a personal thing to them. They're not even looking for you and Leon… just Dom and Vince."_

_Letty had sat up abruptly then. "Is there anything I could do to clear Dom's name? Maybe I could help you with this case you're infiltrating… Braga, right? And in exchange, they could drop the charges on Dom… like they did for you in Miami."_

_Brian had shaken his head. "It's not that simple, Letty. You've got to go through the high authorities to get a pardon. And Braga… he's dangerous. Lately, most of the drivers that have been recruited for him have ended up in body bags."_

"_I don't care," Letty had said, undeterred. "If there something I can do to get my family back together, I have to do it."_

"_Let, I don't know about this…" Brian had replied skeptically._

"_I know you miss them too, Brian," Letty said, eagerness in her tone. "Dom and Mia… they're your family too, now. If he came back, you could get a chance to make things right with him… and have a second chance with Mia."_

_Brian had opened his mouth to refuse her again and Letty had interrupted him quickly. _

"_Look, I'll make you a deal," she had continued. "You help me clear Dom's name so he can come home, and I'll help you with your case… __**and**__ help you get back into __**both**__ of the Toretto's good graces."_

_Brian had looked at her, brows furrowed as he thought._

"_C'mon Brian… what do we have to lose?"_


	10. Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

Less than 36 hours after his encounter with Letty, Dom stood next to Brian at the head of a large, rectangular table, overlooking Glasgow through the vast windowed interior of their newly acquired hideout – a huge, modern office building in a stalled construction phase. They were joined by Han and Giselle, the tech specialist, Tej Parker, and the witty, fast-talking Roman "Rome" Pearce. Brian was briefing the team on what was to be their most dangerous – and what Dom _hoped_ would be the most rewarding – mission yet.

The table was littered with photos, maps, files, and lists, and the surrounding tables were covered with computers and equipment. Tej was already hard at work trying to hack into Hobbs' files, while Brian, Dom, and the rest of the team shifted through all of the information at hand. They had all fallen into an awkward silence after Dom had nearly interrogated Gisele to make sure she hadn't known about Letty being alive; which she hadn't – she'd only known what Fenix had told her: that he'd chased Letty down, wrecked her car, and watched it explode.

"So I talked to some old contacts of mine," Brian announced, breaking the silence. "Shaw's expertise in the special forces was apparently infiltrating drug cartels and bringing them down. His last known mission was in 2009. Something went wrong and his cover was blown. He was still able to catch the head of the cartel – a guy named Maxwell Davies – and seize most of the drugs, weapons, and currencies, but there were a lot of casualties. Shaw apparently went to his superior afterwards with questions, but nobody knows the specifics of their meeting. When the time came to go to court for Davies's case, the defense attorney wanted _Shaw_ to be his star witness – which, to my knowledge, is totally unheard of. I mean, usually, an undercover agent is the star witness for the prosecutor, not the other way around. But, of course, the government didn't want him to testify for them. They tried everything within their power to keep him off the stand. And then he disappears."

Dom's eyebrows rose. "What happened with Davies?"

"Well, according to my sources, Davies was found not guilty based on some technicality – and because Shaw never testified. A few days after the ruling, Shaw reappeared and then disappeared _again_ – for good, this time – apparently taking all of the drugs, weapons, and money that had been gathered as evidence in the Davies case."

"Damn," Rome commented, shaking his head. "Seems like the guy went rogue."

"I don't think so," Brian said. "I think he stumbled on something that the government didn't want him to know."

"Like what?" Rome questioned.

Brian shrugged. "I dunno. All I know is that we're not dealing with cops… or drug dealers… I've never seen this before."

"A'right, listen up!" came Tej's voice, echoing throughout the building. "I wasn't able to actually hack into Hobbs' files, _but_ I was able to find _this_…"

Tej retrieved several pieces of paper that were hot off the printer and handed them to Dom.

Dom's brows immediately furrowed as he once again found himself face-to-face with _her_.

"Who's that?" Rome asked, looking over Dom's shoulder. "Man, she's cute."

Dom didn't react – he was too focused to hear his comment.

"Rome …" Brian said warningly.

"What?" Rome answered playfully.

"That's _Letty_," Brian chided quietly.

"Oh shit," Rome said. "_That's her_? No wonder homeboy wants her back."

Dom's head snapped up suddenly. His glare sent a nervous Roman to the opposite end of the table.

He read carefully through the documents, analyzing every detail. He couldn't believe how much information the FBI actually had on her. The documents contained information about her parents, her childhood in Puerto Rico, her life in LA, street racing, her relationship with Dom, and her involvement in the truck heists. Then Braga's case… his vision suddenly became blurry when he saw a copy of a document, signed by Letty, stipulating his freedom for her involvement in infiltrating Braga's organization. Seeing it in writing, with her messy scrawl of a signature, brought in fresh waves of guilt and sorrow.

The following documents were no easier to swallow. His lips pressed tightly together as he read through the crash site report. He had to close his eyes when he reached the part about the badly burned body – even knowing that she was alive and well, it was still hard to read what had supposedly happened to her. He read through the Coroner's report and the details of her funeral. The last parts contained information on her most recent activities – evidence of her fingerprints found at the scene of a military convoy hijack and a few pictures of her caught by security cameras.

Dom found himself once again filled with anger - anger at Hobbs for hiding the truth, anger at Letty for letting him believe that she was dead, and anger at himself for leaving her in the Dominican Republic.

Seeing his body language change, Brian walked over to Dom slowly. "We'll get her back," he said confidently, placing his hand on Dom's broad shoulder. "Whatever it takes."

Dom looked at Brian with uncertainty. "If that's even what she wants…" he said lowly.

Before Brian could reply, Han's voice broke the silence

"So, what's the plan?"

"_Well_," Rome offered, his tone thick with his signature sarcasm, "we don't really know _where_ they are, or _what_ they want, or _where_ they'll hit next… _but who needs a plan, anyway_?"

Brian ignored Rome's ill faith. "Look," he offered, "What we _do_ know is that Letty – someone we consider family – is running around with this crew. And everyone's out to take them down, not just Hobbs. If we want to save Letty, we have to do this ourselves. The plus here is that most of their jobs are done on wheels… that gives us a real shot at getting these guys."

"We're talking vehicular warfare," Tej said warily.

"Exactly," Brian said. "And who's better behind the wheel than we are?"

"You guys are all _crazy_," Rome said, his voice laced with agitation. "I thought Brazil was our last job. C'mon, you really think we can just go after a group of trained _soldiers_ that Hobbs couldn't even catch? This is not what we do!"

"_Look_," Dom's baritone voice resonated throughout the building. "Hobbs asked for our help. So we've got two choices. One, we say 'screw you' to Hobbs, get Letty, and get the hell out of here." He paused. "Or two… we make a deal with Hobbs."

"What are you thinking?" Han asked, intrigued.

"We have the upper hand here," Dom stated confidently. "He _needs_ us. I say we use this to our advantage – to get what we _really_ want."

Roman forced a laugh. "Damn, dawg, we already millionaires, man. I've got a few mil stuffed under my freakin' _mattress_ right now. What more could we want?"

"I'm not talking about money," Dom said, the ghost of a grin appearing on his face. "I'm talking about freedom."

* * *

An hour later, Dom stood lost in thought, staring at Glasgow's skyline through the large-paned windows of the building. He was quickly brought out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of the building's elevator. He turned to look at his team who were still gathered around the table, all of them staring cautiously at the elevator doors as they started to open.

The doors opened, revealing Hobbs and a female agent. As Hobbs and his partner approached the table, Rome couldn't help but take a dig at the DSS agent.

"Why do I smell _baby oil_?"

"You keep running your pie hole," Hobbs warned, "and you're gonna smell an ass kicking."

The female agent eyed Roman up and down as Hobbs' gaze turned in Dominic's direction. "So, you wanted to see me?" he prodded. "Well, I'm here. Talk to me."

Dom shook his head, remaining distant from the table. "Nah. First, you talk to _us_." He nodded at Brian who promptly slid a file containing a picture of Letty across the table. "Explain that," Dom deadpanned.

Hobbs lips twisted into a smile. "Wow, you're fast, Toretto. Didn't think you'd find her so quickly." His face turned serious as he placed his hands on his tactical belt. "What do you want me to say, Dom? You and I both know that if I'd told you about Letty from the beginning, you wouldn't have given a damn about helping me catch Shaw and his crew. Letty would have been your sole motivation. Look, I'm offering you a chance to make your family whole again… but first, I need _your_ help. What do you say?"

"You get us close to Letty and we'll get you Shaw," Brian demanded before Dom could reply. "And you give us full pardons, all the way around. _Even Letty_."

"I can't promise you that," Hobbs said flatly.

Dom started approaching the table. "You got the best crew in the world standing right in front of you… _give 'em a reason to stay_."

Hobbs sighed. "I might be able to work something out for you guys in exchange for Shaw and his crew… but I don't think I can get a pardon for Letty. She's in too deep."

"We ain't doing it without Letty," Dom said intensely, unfazed. "That's the deal. _Take it or leave it._" He folded his arms across his chest, his stare never wavering.

"Maybe…" Hobbs began, pausing to think. "Maybe if you get her to cooperate with us… help us catch Owen… testify against him. Maybe we can work something out... but I can't make you any promises," he added firmly.

"We'll take it," Dom agreed. "For now."

* * *

Shaw opened the side door of an old, abandoned factory, slightly startling the petite blonde who sat close by.

"Everyone here?" he asked, stepping inside.

The blonde nodded quickly, locking the door behind her before following Shaw toward the center of the building. Dusk was settling quickly and Shaw's entire crew, including Letty, had gathered at the factory to meet with their leader. Letty had a good idea of what was to come – Owen had stayed away from her since her meeting with Dom, but she knew he had not simply forgotten.

"We have some last minute details to take care of," Shaw began. "First, the convoy carrying the last shipment has modified its itinerary and its being kept a secret. Even the drivers of the convoy are unaware of when and where they are going. The only way to get this itinerary is to go to Atlantic Quay and get it ourselves, without them knowing. We have someone on the inside who will help us make it in and out undetected; but to do so, we'll need a little diversion. Which means," he began with a smirk, "we'll finally get to test out our new toys."

He began to pace slowly in front of his team. "Secondly, we have some unfinished business with our friend Terry. Jah, Letty, and Ivory, I think you should pay him a little visit tomorrow." He eyed all three of them "You guys know what to do?"

They all nodded in response.

"Good," he said. "And lastly, regarding the other night… like we were informed a couple of days ago, DSS Agent Luke Hobbs enlisted the help of Dominic Toretto and his team to help take us down. And like I said then, this doesn't change anything to our plan. It's just a mere glitch. We just need to be more alert and careful. And if they get in the way… well, you know what to do."

Owen looked pointedly at Letty.

"Now let's go."


	11. Chapter 9 - Part 1

CHAPTER NINE – PART I

After reaching a tentative agreement and a half-hour of casual conversation, Dom, the team, and Hobbs – along with his newly introduced partner, Agent Riley – reconvened at the large rectangular table to listen to the DSS agent's plan of action.

"As of right now," Hobbs began, "we have two pressing matters. The first one involves searching all of the vacant lots and buildings between here and London. We're looking for anything big enough to house all of the stolen equipment from the hijacked convoys. There are a few in particular I want to check out…"

Dom glanced at Brian and then nodded at Hobbs. "We'll go with you," he offered.

"I'll check out the city's database," Tej added. "See if there's anything we're missing."

Hobbs nodded. "We've also got some intel on a guy named Terry," he continued. "He's reportedly been running his mouth about having advanced military technology for sale. He's probably a fake, but it's worth checking out."

He eyed Han and Gisele. "Agent Riley will join the rest of you, including big mouth over there—" he nodded at Roman without making eye contact, "—in the morning to follow this lead."

Roman rolled his eyes, feigning indignation. He approached Riley, eyeing her appreciatively. "Looks like it's going to be you and me, baby. Maybe I could give you a ride…" he said with a wink.

"_You're_ the one that's going to need a ride… _to the hospital_," Riley responded, unimpressed.

"Oh, she talks!" Rome grinned. "And _mmm_, she's _feisty_. I like my women like that," he said, rubbing his hands together.

* * *

After a few minutes of Rome's back-and-forth antics with Hobb's new partner, Dom decided to escape the bickering and made his way outside. The abridged building had an exterior car ramp built-in on one side, allowing the team to bring their cars in and out easily. It also gave them an impressive view of the city.

Dom leaned against a metal railing, his eyes lost in the city lights. For the millionth time, his mind mulled over the impossible. His Letty was _alive_. She was alive and she didn't want anything to do with him…

"Hey," a voice said quietly, slightly startling Dom and breaking him from his thoughts.

He turned to see Brian standing beside him with a pair of binoculars in his hands.

"I just talked to Mia," Brian said, bringing the binoculars to his eyes. "She still wants to come, but I've convinced her to stay put a little longer, to keep Gabe safe." He laughed a little to himself then. "But you know Mi – that won't keep her away for long. She's bound to come here sooner or later."

"I'd rather be it later," Dom replied lowly. "I don't want her involved in all of this. Especially if…"

His voice trailed off, his eyes unable to meet Brian's.

"If what?" Brian pressed.

"If we—if we don't get our Letty back…"

Brian looked at Dom, confusion masking his face.

"I'm not sure if this will end well, Brian," Dom continued, shaking his head. "I don't want to get Mia's hopes up and subject her to another heartbreak…"

Although he didn't say it, Brian knew he was also referring to himself - he was trying not to get his own hopes up in case Letty didn't come back to him.

"You know," another voice came from behind them, "I really don't understand why you guys keep that assclown around…"

Dom and Brian turned to see Hobbs approaching them. Brian couldn't help but smile at what the DSS agent just said. Brian wasn't entirely sure why they kept Roman around, either.

"Well," Brian began, "he may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, or be very reliable, or even that good of a driver… and his big mouth always gets us in trouble. You know," Brian pondered, turning to Dom, "I really don't know _why_ we have him around."

Dom half-smiled at Brian's attempt to lighten the mood.

"He's your bro, man. Don't drag me into this," Dom said, shaking his head.

Hobbs's expression turned serious as he locked eyes with Dom. "Look Dom, I just wanted to say that… I'm sorry… about Letty."

Dom stiffened at his admission.

"I see now how much she really means to you," Hobbs continued. "To all of you. And I'm sorry I hid this from you. I don't know how she got mixed up in all of this, but I promise you that I'm gonna help you get her back."

Before Dom could think of a reply, Hobbs' cell phone chirped loudly from his pocket. Hobbs quickly swiped it from his pocket, bringing it to his ear.

"Hobbs," he answered.

Dom didn't miss the quick change in the DSS agent's body language.

"WHAT!" Hobbs yelled into the phone. "I'm on my way! _Don't_ lose them!" Hobbs warned just before hanging up.

He turned from Dom and Brian, walking hastily back into the building. They followed behind him as he made his way back to the table. "A'right, listen up!" he called out, gaining everyone's attention. "Some men on my team just informed me that two modified stunt cars are causing havoc in a tunnel outside of town – driving at insane speeds, flipping cars. We've got to get down there now. This could be Shaw and his crew… these vehicles sound like the ones they stole from the military."

He turned to Riley. "We gotta roll," he commanded, leading her towards the elevator.

"We're right behind you," Brian called out after him.

"I'll stay behind," Tej offered, "and monitor their whereabouts by logging into the traffic webcams. I'll lead you right to them."

Hobbs nodded. "Let's stop this motherfucker," he deadpanned before the elevator door closed.

"A'right people, let's go!" Brian yelled, pointing to the four custom-equipped BMW M5 E60s that were parked behind the main meeting area.

* * *

_Thank you for all your reviews - they make my day!_


	12. Chapter 9 - Part 2

CHAPTER NINE – PART II

Owen Shaw snatched his steering wheel sharply to the right, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with a Vauxhall police car.

'_All units needed!_' the CB radio mounted inside of his car blared. '_I repeat… all units needed in the tunnel!_'

Owen's lips twisted into a half-smile, and he quickly lowered the volume on the radio, grabbing his handheld transceiver from his belt and holding it close to his mouth.

"Okay, listen up!" he commanded loudly over the road noise. "We've got every cop in the city hot on our tail, and Agent Hobbs has just been called in to join the fun. Letty, you're team is up. Everything is in place. Let's do this…"

He dropped the transceiver just in time to snatch the wheel a second time, barreling through traffic to escape the hoards of police cars closing in.

* * *

"The tunnel. Straight ahead."

Hobbs spared a quick glance at Agent Riley, who was pointing to something on the GPS screen in front of her. He could hear the faint wail of sirens as he gunned his Mercedes-Benz G-Class, followed closely by Dom and his team in the four modified BMWs.

As they approached the tunnel, Brian, who was directly behind Hobbs, noticed the mass of police cars littering the entrance. His eyes narrowed suddenly and he picked up the mic on his CB radio.

"Something doesn't feel right about this, guys."

"What 'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?" Rome's voice inquired.

"This doesn't make sense," Brian continued. "Why would they expose themselves like this? It's like they decided to take a joy ride around the city just to cause havoc—"

"They're drawing attention to themselves," Han concluded.

"Maybe they're just testing the cars?" Rome supplied.

"I don't know," Han said dubiously. "I'm with Brian on this one—why would they pick such a high-traffic area to test them out? Seems like a bold move to me, especially since Tej said there were only two of them—"

"So the question is," Brian continued pensively, "where's the rest of their team?"

Realization quickly hit Dom. "Shit! This is just a decoy! We've gotta tell Hobbs."

"I'm on it," Tej, back at the base, said coolly.

"Tej," Brian commanded, "see if there's anything unusual going on in the area – systems down, alarms going off, _anything_."

"Gimme a sec," Tej answered, sliding over to another monitor. "A'right, let's see," he mumbled as he typed. "Hmmm…" Panic suddenly enveloped his voice. "Uh, guys, we've got a security alarm going off at Atlantic Quay—the Scottish government building in Glasgow. Cameras in the building are offline, but the head of security has confirmed everything is under control. Sounds fishy to me… I'm sending the directions now for you guys to check it out…"

* * *

Owen's transceiver chirped loudly in his lap. He grabbed it hastily, pushing the talk button. "What is it?"

"They're on to us," Ivory's voice alerted. "Hobbs and Toretto are on their way to Atlantic Quay."

'Well, well… aren't they _clever_?" Owen said through gritted teeth. "Vegh, keep the cops busy. Ivory, call Letty and let her know they've got company coming their way." He smiled to himself, suddenly making a rapid U-turn.

"I'm gonna go say 'hi' to our little _friends_…"

* * *

"Guys, it looks like we have company…"

Han's stern voice came over the radio just as the team started changing their course to follow Hobbs. He was at the tail end of the lineup and could see one of the modified vehicles – pursued by several police cars – suddenly speeding in their direction. Without hesitation, he slowed his BMW to a stop, looking at Giselle. "Hold on," he commanded and she gave him a knowing nod as he cut the wheel to face the oncoming car.

"Han, what the hell are you _doing_, man?!" Roman's voice asked incredulously.

"Buying time," Han answered coolly. "You guys need to get to Atlantic Quay."

"Han, don't! They're too dangerous!" Dom's voice argued as he watched Han's car drive away from the team.

"Dom's right! Don't do it, Han!" Brian's apprehensive voice warned.

Rome's car suddenly fell back and turned around to join Han.

"I've got 'im, guys!" Roman stated confidently. "Y'all get outta here!"

Following Tej's directions via GPS, Hobbs, Dom, and Brian sped in the opposite direction, headed towards downtown Glasgow.

Brian, who was holding the rear, watched in his rearview mirror as the modified vehicle approached Han's car. He watched with horror as Han tried to side-swipe the stunt car, only to be catapulted high into the air. The car crashed to the ground and the team slammed on their brakes.

"Don't stop!" Han assured sternly over the CB. "We're okay!"

"Rome, hold back!" Brian warned, noticing the sudden appearance of a black Land Rover joining the modified vehicle. "You guys go on," Brian commanded of Dom and Hobbs. "We'll try to hold them off."

He watched as Dom and Hobbs approached a nearby intersection and quickly went to the right – which would put them in the front of Atlantic Quay. Holding back, he and Rome watched as the modified vehicle and the Land Rover took a left turn at the intersection. As they followed, they saw a streak of gray speed toward the direction Dom and Hobbs had taken.

Brian and Rome made a quick U-turn to follow the Land Rover. They soon caught up with it, Rome right on his tail, while Brian pulled up next to it, swerving to avoid oncoming cars. All of sudden, Rome saw the back window open and a black man come in to view, pointing a machine gun at him. Rome had just enough time to duck before his car was riddled with bullets, sending glass everywhere. To avoid getting shot, he swerved to the right, losing control of his car. It skidded across the road and then flew into the air sideways, crashing into the window display of a store. The gunman then aimed at Brian's car, but before he had time to shoot, Brian had already made a U-turn and gone back to check on Rome, letting the Land Rover make an easy escape.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dom saw the streak of gray approaching him and immediately recognized the car. "_The Interceptor! That's Letty's car!_" Dom yelled into the CB.

The Interceptor suddenly starting easing away, and Dom jerked the wheel of his car to pursue her, pressing the gas to the floor.

Hobbs didn't miss the sight of Letty's car either, and quickly dropped Riley off at Atlantic Quay. They were in full pursuit of the Interceptor – Dom's heart was beating almost as fast as his car was going, scared that, once again, Letty would get away from him.

He was gaining on her when all of sudden, he was cut by the modified military vehicle. He had to change course in order to not crash into it and suffer the same faith as Han and Gisele. He was now driving side-by-side with it, while Hobbs approached it on the other side. When looking inside, Hobbs and Dom recognized Owen Shaw as the driver. Their prime target right besides them, they lost all focus on the Interceptor who got away. The three cars rode side-by-side on some distance until they arrived at the parkade to the local stadium, the road ahead becoming more narrowed, not leaving enough room for the three of them.

Before he had time to think of a plan of action, Dom felt a car slammed into the left side of his car. He had just enough time to see that it was the Interceptor that had hit him before it left the scene.

"What the _hell_ is wrong with her?" Dom raged. He once again change course and went after the Interceptor through the parkade, leaving Hobbs to take care of Shaw.

Hobbs and Shaw went flying passed him in the narrow space and then went up to the floor above. Hobbs was now on the left, while Shaw was on his right, both driving at the same speed. They took a sharp turn and ended up on a road that stopped abruptly with a brick wall. The only way out was another sharp turn to the right at the end– with space big enough for only one vehicle. Hobbs suspected that even though his car was bigger, if he tried slamming Shaw's car, because of the angle, he would probably get his car flipped over the railing that was on his left side and fall down.

He was stuck.

Anyway he looked at it, he was either going into that wall in front of him or over the railing. He knew if he slowed down or even stopped that Shaw wouldn't hesitate to kill him. Thinking quickly, he looked down below, noticing a series of parked car. He opened his car door and jump over the railing, landing on top of one of the car, leaving his car to crash into the wall and Shaw to get away.

"_Fuck_," Hobbs murmured, resting on his back, not believing that Shaw had escaped. Again.

* * *

At the same time, Dom had finally caught up to the Interceptor. Still enraged at the fact that she had slammed into him, he decided to pay her back by slamming into her a couple of time. Her car eventually skidded across the road and came to an abrupt stop. He stopped his just a few meters from her's.

Contrary to their previous encounter where he had been stunned and nervous to see her, now, after everything, he was just plain _mad_. He quickly got out of his car – ready to grab her and yell at her – when he saw her get out of her car holding something in her hand. He barely had time to register what it was before he saw her look to the side and then back at him, firing her gun twice in his direction, hitting him once below his right shoulder. Before he had a chance to realize what had just happened, the modified military vehicle passed them and Letty was back in her car, following it.

Leaving him behind. _Again._

* * *

_Author's note: _So, it looks like I'm going to be doing this without my beta from now on. She's been an amazing help, but she's sooo busy that she doesn't have that much time to give me. And I want to post this story before the movie actually comes out.

Considering the fact that I have zero knowledge or experience in writing fiction, there will probably be some inconsistency in the story and with the characters. And considering the fact that English is not my first language (I'm actually French) I can guaranty you that there will be mistakes, typos and wrong using of certain expressions. I hope you'll all be able to put that aside and just enjoy reading the story. I'm gonna try my best, so bear with me. You'll have more chapters, but definitely not as good as it was before.

I really want to thank Melthee for all her hard work and for getting me started. I wouldn't have done it without her.


	13. Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

The night's events had left the team with a lot of cuts and bruises, some sore muscles, one bullet hole and two ruined cars. All of them kept insisting that Dom should seek medical attention for his wound, but he wouldn't hear of it, stating that if none of them were going for their injuries, then he wasn't going either. He was confident that with his police training and his time spent with Mia, Brian could take care of it.

So as the team headed back to their hotel rooms for the night, Dom and Brian instead went back to their hideout to take care of his gunshot wound.

Both men where keeping to themselves, both lost in their own thoughts about what had gone down tonight. Both where thinking about Letty, questioning what had happened to her to lead her to actually _shoot_ Dom.

"I just… I still can't believe she's alive and that she's never tried to contact us," reflected Brian quietly while preparing the first aid kit to remove the bullet.

"I'm sure she had her reasons. If she needed us to think she was death, that's because she had a good reason. I know her. Letty would _never_ let us hurt over her death for no reason," Dom stated. By his tone, Brian wasn't sure who Dom was trying to convince about Letty's motives.

Brian was now concentrating on removing the bullet that was lodged not very far in Dom's skin, just bellow his right shoulder. Luckily, it hadn't hit any major arteries or muscles, so he was able to do it without causing Dom too much pain.

"Maybe the Letty we once knew is gone," Brian carefully added. "I mean, she was pretty hurt and confuse after you left her in the DR." Brian saw Dom wince and bow his head in shame at that statement, but he kept going. "I can only imagine what that hurt has turned into in all this time. Especially… if she knows about… Elena…" Brian trailed off softly while he finished cleaning up Dom's wound and taping it. He was kind of impressed by the fact that Dom had barely flinched during the whole deal.

Dom knew that what Brian was saying about Letty was probably true. She obviously had change. He had witness first-hand how different she was during their two encounters, but still…

"It don't matter. All of it, it's just details. Once we get Shaw, we'll get our Letty back. Besides… you don't turn your back on family. _Even when they do_," Dom confidently stated.

"You know, I keep thinking about what happened back then, with Braga. I don't get it, how she could… how did she…" Brian said a bit harshly, getting up and walking outside, needing some fresh air.

Dom put on a clean wife beater and followed him outside.

"How was she, you know, when you guys were working to catch Braga?" Dom lowly asked.

"She was… sad. Lonely. Lost. She felt like she didn't belong anywhere anymore. And she didn't know what to do with herself. That's why she wanted you back. She thought-"

Dom interrupted Brian by motioning for him to keep quiet. Standing still, they both listen carefully, waiting to see what was going on. That's when they both heard it – someone was coming up through the staircase.

Both men immediately went into action. Brian grabbed a shotgun and posed himself behind a wall that hided him but gave him a good view of the door to the staircase. Dom silently placed himself against the wall besides the opening of the doorway and waited.

The door had barely started to open when Dom grabbed the arm of the intruder and twisted it behind the person's back, slamming him face first against the wall.

"What the fuck, Dom? Let me go!" the person shouted.

"Letty?" Dom chocked out, letting her go instantly and taking a few step back.

"Nice welcome," Letty sarcastically told Dom, stretching her arm and rolling her shoulder. "If I'd known this was the greeting I'd get by showing up, I would've a stayed home," an irritated Letty said, crossing her arms in front of her and looking defiantly at Dom.

Dom was frozen on the spot. He was still in shock over the fact that she was alive. And for once, she was the one that had actually sought him out.

"Look, I just…" Letty slowly started, then paused. She sighed and let her shoulders drop. "I just wanted to make sure that you where ok," she finally said quietly, looking him straight in the eyes.

"What?" a dazed Dom responded.

"I just… wanted to see if you where hurt," Letty started again, getting frustrated with him and the situation they were in. "By the way you just greeted me back there, I can see that you're just find, so I'm gonna go. Sorry for shooting you" she added nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders like it was no big deal, then turning around to leave.

"Sorry for shooting me," repeated Dom, looking at her in apparent disbelieve. _"SORRY FOR SHOOTING ME!"_ he shouted, loosing his temper. "Are you fucking kidding me, Let? That's the only thing you have to say to me after all this? After all this time? After letting me thing that you were death for the last 18 months?" he yelled at her, towering over her.

"Pfft" Letty let out taking a step back, irritated by his last comment. "You're just lucky that I'm the one who shot you and not somebody else from my crew. Because believe me, they wouldn't have aim for your shoulder. And stop playing martyr, you and I but know that you've known all along that I was still alive. So stop feeding me bullshit, _asshole_" she harshly told him.

Dom's heart leaped into his throat when he saw the hatred she had for him, clearly visible in her eyes. His mind just couldn't register why she was looking at him this way and what she had just said.

"What do you mean I knew all along? Letty, up until that race, _I thought you were death_," said a confused Dom in a softer tone.

"Stop lying to me," she responded through clenched teeth. "I know ok. _I know_ that Brian told you I was still alive," Letty angrily told him.

"Letty, I had no idea that you were still alive," Brian said, finally approaching them. He had stay hidden in the back to give them some privacy, but wanted to stay close in case Dom needed back up.

"_Shut the hell up Buster!"_ Letty snapped at him, fist clenched. A look of hurt had crossed her face at seeing Brian for the first time, but it was quickly replace by annoyance.

"Damn it Letty, what's wrong with you?" Brian asked in disbelieve at seeing her and at her attitude towards them.

"What's wrong with me?" she asked raising her eyebrow. "I found out that my whole life was just one big lie after another, and that the people who I thought where family, were just looking out for themselves and using me," her cold voice told him.

"What… What are you talking about?" a confused Dom said looking alternately between Brian and Letty.

"I know about the _lying_ and the _cheating_, Dom," Letty told Dom, looking him straight in the eye, her voice shaking. "I know that you had a _son_ with one of your skanks when we were in Mexico and that you were hiding them in Panama afterwards. I know that less than two weeks after my death, you were fucking Braga's slut, Gisele. And I know about your _relationship_ with that cop. It was too dangerous for me to be around you, but it wasn't for her, huh Dom? Bullshit!" she ended with murderous eyes.

Dom eyes bugged out at the accusation. He was literally left speechless. He had absolutely no idea what Letty was talking about.

"All this time – _we're just talking, Let_ – _I'm just being friendly_ – _nothing's going on_ – _you can trust me, baby_ – _I love you_ – all lies," Letty shakily told Dom, the hurt clearly visible in her teary eyes. "I was just a joke to you. _Poor little Letty, who's been love with Dominic since she was twelve_. You never thought I was good enough for you. I know that the only reason you kept me around all those years was because you promised your dad that you would look out for me. You'd use me when it was convenient for you and then you'd tossed me aside when you where done," Letty ranted.

"_Have you lost your freaking mind?_ I never – _ever_ – cheated on you," Dom yelled back at her. "And a son? I have no son. You're crazy! I swear to you, I don't know what you're talking about," Dom responded, totally lost at why she would say those things.

"STOP LYING!" Letty screamed at him. "I saw the pictures, Dom. I saw you with that Mexican women and your son in your arms when you were in Panama. I saw pictures of you and Gisele, and you and the cop. And I know there were others. Always others," Letty said in a dejected tone, losing the energy to fight with him.

"Letty, I swear to you that…" Brian wanted to argue, but was cut off by Letty.

"Like I'm gonna believe anything _you_ say," Letty said now turning her anger towards him. "You said it best yourself – _you're good at lying_. I can't believe I ever trusted you. You used me, Brian. When you learned that the DA denied our deal, you still used me to get to Braga. And then you and your FBI friends faked my death to get to Dom. You played me. Both of you used me for your own personal gain," she said now looking at the both of them with pure hatred.

"Letty, you're talking non-sense here. Nothing you say is true. Dom has no son. He was never with Gisele. And _there was_ a deal with the DA," Brian pleaded with her.

"No there wasn't," she calmly stated, taking a deep breath and regaining control of her emotions just like Owen had thought her. "I saw my file from the FBI, Brian. I know that your request for Dom's pardon was denied. I know that you were at the scene of my crash and that you didn't find a body. I saw your signature on the FBI plan to fake my death in order to get Dom out of hiding. I saw pictures of you and Dom taking down Braga, of you and Dom taking down Hernan Reyes in Rio, of you, Dom, the cop, Mia and your son, Gabriel, in the South Pacific. All of you living a nice, wealthy, happy life without any thoughts about me, about what happened to me. None of you came looking for me. You knew I was alive, all of you, but no one gave a damn about it," Letty confidently stated, confronting both men.

Dom and Brian looked at each other in confusion, trying to decide if the other had any idea what she was talking about. Without saying a word, Brian turned around and went to the middle table to retrieve a folder that he gave to Letty. He then softly told her "I don't know why they've been telling you this Letty, but most of it has just been a bunch of lies. This is the truth," he said pointing at the file. "The deal was accepted. We did find a body in your car that the FBI coroner's identified as you based on your DNA and dental records. There was no plan by the FBI to fake your death in order to catch Dom. Yes, we knew that there was a chance he would show up and everyone was on the look out, but it wasn't plan that way. I don't know what happened and who's responsible for this – for faking your death – but I wasn't a part of that. I… _We_ all thought you were death, Letty. That's why we didn't come looking for you, not because we didn't care," Brian told Letty, his eyes begging her to believe him.

Letty incredulously looked trough the file that Brian had given her. According to it, almost everything that Owen had told her about her involvement with Braga, with the FBI and her death, had been a bunch of lies. She was shaking her head in disbelieve. It couldn't be true. And if he had lied about all this, could this mean he had lied about her family – about Dom? She didn't know what to think or who to believe anymore.

"Let, I swear, I never cheated on you. There has never been anyone else but you, even months after you died. Not even when I was in Panama. _I love you_," Dom told her in a gentle tone, seeing the hurt and confusion in her eyes. "And… with Elena… I tried to-"

"_No, no, no._ You're lying. You knew I was alive. YOU KNEW!" she screamed; her head – _and her heart_ – hurting from all the confusion. "You're just saying all this stuff now because you're ego and pride are bruised, because I went off and got myself a life on my own. You never thought I was good enough or strong enough or smart enough to be on my own. You never thought that without the _great Dominic Toretto_ to tell me what to do – to protect and save me – that I would achieve anything. You never thought that somebody else would accept me – would want me – in their team. Well you know what? I don't need you. And I don't need this."

Letting the file she was holding fall to the floor, Letty turned around, opened the door to the staircase, and left in a hurry.

Dom let out a growl of frustration, not knowing what else to do or say. He couldn't believe all the lies they had feed her with. No wonder she was so distant towards him. He knew he had to make this right, but he had no idea what to do, where to start.

It took him a few seconds to realize that she was leaving him behind again. But he wasn't going to let her go so easily this time. No way.

He opened the door to the staircase and went running after her.

Letty knew that Dom had followed her, but she was not prepared for how quickly he caught up to her. She had barely reached the landing of the third floor when he spun her around to face him and grabbed both her arms in a tight grip.

"What do you-" was all she got out before her breath was stolen by his demanding lips on hers. Dom kissed her with a primal intensity, his hands on her body holding her like anchors to keep her from getting away. Even if her rational mind was functioning enough to insist on her backing away from him, her body responded to him out of long-ingrained habit. Shivers of pleasure went up her spine as she relaxed against him.

Letty did not kiss him back immediately, but that did not seem to deter him in the slightest. He simply kissed her harder, with more passion and desperation than she had ever experienced from him. It felt as though all the longing and anguish of the past two years were distilled into that kiss. She was not aware of moving, but suddenly she felt her back hit the wall behind her. And then, she was kissing him back.

He must have let her arms go because she now had a vise grip on his upper arms. Which was a good thing, since the familiar scent of his skin filled the air around her, making her feel dizzy.

Minutes could have been hours as she clung to him, her need triumphing over caution. She knew and understood the hundreds of reasons why what they were doing was dangerous, but right now, she didn't give a damn.

There was need and desperation in their kisses, in the way that they were holding on to each other, in the way that her nails were biting into his skin, in the way that he was pressing his body into hers. It was intoxicating, heady, and underneath it all, there was something else, a sharped edge of anger that neither one of them was hiding.

His right hand was wrapped around the back of her head, his fingers tangled in her hair. His grip was tight, but the little needles of pain running up the nape of her neck were dulled by the crush of his lips against hers. His other hand was holding her tightly against his warm body while his lips moved down, tracing a bruising path along her jaw and neck.

She used the anger to help built a wall to keep out the hope and love, to keep out everything she wanted to feel for him but couldn't allow herself to feel. The emotions that would only get her hurt again. So she stacked bricks upon bricks as she pulled him closer, craving his touch, his need. And she let herself think that this was them saying goodbye, that this was them getting each other out of their systems for good this time.

And it was working, she thought, as he pressed her even more tightly against him and the wall. She could make this about needs and desire, about hunger. Until he reached to grasp her hand. Until he was groaning into her ear in his husky voice, _"God, Letty."_

It wasn't the desperation in his words that did it, or the submission; it was the devotion and underlying love that she could feel present in them. And at his words, a tiny thread of hope snaked its way in between the bricks of her wall and her defenses crumbled, the debris spilling down around her.

Letty pushed herself away from him with such force and haste that Dom was left momentarily breathless and stunned in the wake of his own surprise. He stared at her as she stood a few feet from him, breathing heavily from their exertions.

"What's wrong?" he asked in a voice so thick with emotion that she could barely understand him. His gaze bored into her with such intensity that she could almost feel her skin burned in response. His presence kept her locked in place, unable to move or speak coherently.

"I… I can't… we shouldn't… I have to go," she told him, her eyes pleading with him to let her go.

"_Letty, no!"_ Dom told her, reaching out to grab her hands, desperate to keep her with him. But when he saw the hurt and confusion in her eyes, he knew he had to let her go, that she needed time and space to make sense of it all.

So he stepped back, nodding his head to let her know that he was giving her, her escape. But his eyes clearly stated that he wasn't happy about it and that he was nowhere near done with her.

He took another step back and watched her as she gave him one last look before leaving down the stairs. He had to trust that soon, she would be back in his arms again and then, he would never let her go again.

* * *

_Author's note: So I'm trying to get better at this, but I'm a little concern that I'm doing this all wrong. Is the fact that there is constantly different perspectives in the same chapter making it hard to read, or was it ok for you this way? Let me know what you think. Thank you! _

_I really appreciate all your good words of encouragement. They make me want to write more!_


	14. Chapter 11

_Thanks to Sarah for looking at it beforehand!_

* * *

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Early the next morning, Brian and Dom were riding with Hobbs in one of his many Mercedes-Benz G-Class, driving toward one of the locations between Glasgow and London that Hobbs wanted to check out with them. They were filling him on the talk they had with Letty the night before. After she had left, Brian and Dom had silently agreed to not talk about what had been said just yet and instead, had gone back to their hotel rooms to catch some sleep.

Although, they were still in the dark about a lot of things, some pieces of the Letty puzzle were starting to come together. They now had a pretty good idea about why Letty had stayed away – Shaw having filled her head with a bunch of lies concerning her family and her place with them. And even though they didn't understand exactly how it went down and who was responsible for faking her death, they suspected that Shaw had been keeping tabs on Letty ever since her involvement with Braga. The fact that Gisele remembered seeing Shaw with Braga at that time, mixed with the fact that it seems like Shaw had Dom followed when he was in Panama at the same time, led them to the conclusion that there had been a well-orchestrated plan involved; but why and by whom? Shaw? Braga? The FBI? It was still anyone's guess at this point.

What still baffled them was the fact that not only did they know that Dom had been in Panama, but they had supposedly showed Letty pictures of him there. Dom had figured out that the pictures she had seen were of him, Mariana and Alejandro – the wife and kid of his new boss. All of them had taken Dom in and had treated him like family. Dom could only imagine what seeing those pictures had done to Letty. No wonder she didn't want anything to do with him!

They had decided that for the time being, what had happened with Letty would remain between the three of them. They didn't want Shaw to hear that she had come to them and risk putting her life in anymore danger.

The four locations they visited that morning proved to be dead ends. There were no traces of the stolen military convoy or any of the equipment used by Shaw's crew.

Hobbs was still waiting for information on what had went down at Atlantic Quay the night before. Unfortunately, it appeared that the head of security who was in charge, had gone missing and no one could tell what had happened. He was getting more than fed up with getting nowhere. He just hoped that Riley was having better luck than he was …

* * *

Riley picked up Rome, Han, and Gisele at their hotel early that morning for the 7-hour drive to London, so that they could go have a talk with that Terry guy. His hideout was located in the industrial part of London, behind an old abandoned brewery.

When they got there, they decided to park the car out front and walk to the back of the brewery so that Terry wouldn't hear them coming which proved to be unnecessary, since nobody was there.

They started walking around, noticing different pieces of tech equipment lying around and in boxes. They saw through a shed's window some computers screens and a lot of closed metal cases. But the whole place was locked up.

They hadn't been snooping around for more than five minutes when they heard a car coming – a red Alfa Romeo Giulietta was rounding up the corner.

"Why don't you guys stay back here while me and Gisele go talk to our friend Terry," Riley said to them while untying her hair and letting her curls fall loose on her shoulders.

"Yeah, I love when women uses their feminine charms on poor suckers to get what they want," Rome happily said, rubbing his hands together getting ready to watch the show.

From behind some empty barrels, Han and Rome watched Riley and Gisele talk to a guy who they assumed was Terry. They couldn't hear what was going on, but they guessed that things weren't going too great when they saw Riley grab the man's arm and twisted it. Even thought he was struggling and trying to get out of her grip, Riley seemed to have the whole thing under control with little effort.

While the girls kept Terry busy, Han picked the lock of the shed to snoop around inside. All the metal cases were locked and didn't have any information on them. He didn't find anything specific that could link this place to Shaw or to the stolen goods. He then dug into his coat pocket and took out a mini camera and microphone that Tej had given him to plant there in order to keep tabs on Terry. He placed the mini camera at an angle that would allow Tej to see the computers screens and the front of the shed.

He had just gotten out and locked the door behind him when he saw the girls start to walk away from Terry, towards the front of the building where their car was parked. Han and Rome kept hiding until Terry was inside the shed. They stayed down and met the girls at the car without being seen.

"So…" asked Han.

"Well, that was a waste of time. The guy's a joke, a con artist. He heard on the news about the stolen military convoy and saw a quick way to scam people and get money by pretending to have stolen military guns. Let's get out of here and back to Glasgow," commented a frustrated Riley.

"Wait, wait, wait. No way am I going back on the road without eating first. I need nourishment to keep up with you people," argued a distressed Rome.

"A'right, we'll stop for some food before going back," agreed Riley. "Let's go."

* * *

Riley, Rome, Han, and Gisele were just getting back to the car after eating, when Han's cell phone went off.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"Where are you guys? Are you still in London? 'Cause you need to go back right now. Letty and two dudes are tearing apart Terry's place right now," an alarmed Tej said in a hurry.

"We've got to go back to Terry's," Han told the others while running towards the car. "What's going on Tej?" he said after putting his phone on speaker so that everyone could hear him.

"Shit man, there's a Black dude and an Asian dude with Letty that were shooting the place down a minute ago. And now, they're packing up the place, putting everything in the back of their car while Letty is holding a gun at some guy's head, questioning him. They're almost done. Hurry," a nervous Tej related.

"We're almost there," replied Riley.

"Fuck, they just lit the place on fire. _They're burning the place down!_ Ah man, and they left the guy in there unconscious," added Tej, his eyes fixed on the monitor. "They're getting away," a frustrated Tej added.

Just as Riley was turning in the parking lot of the old brewery, a Land-Rover Range Rover Series III came right at them, swerving just in time to miss them, and then sped out of there towards the main road.

"Go after them. I'll stay back and take care of Terry," let out Gisele in a hurry, getting out of the car and running towards the back of the building where you could already see smoke coming out.

As they were chasing the other car, Han knew right away that Letty was behind the wheel of the Land-Rover – her driving skills were as impressive as ever. The way she was going, no way would Riley be able to catch up with her. The only reason they were still behind them, was because of the heavy traffic that surrounded them. There seemed to be a lot of road construction going on around them, slowing them down.

In fact, up ahead, everything seemed to be at a standstill, with no way to get around the traffic jam. They would actually be able to catch-up to them. That's at least what they all thought, until they saw the Land-Rover suddenly stopped on the side of the road and all three passengers get out.

"They're making a run for it," obviously stated Riley while stopping the car right behind theirs. "They're headed for the Tube. If they catch one, we'll lose them," she added running towards the entryway of the busy metro station. They entered just in time to see the three crew members run in three different directions. With a simple glance at each other, the three of them started running after them in opposite direction.

Because of the flow of people walking around, Han had no trouble catching up to the tall Black guy he was following. He was just about to grab his arm, when the man turned around, pulled out a handgun and fired two shots in the air, sending everyone into frenzy. All around, people started screaming, ducking to the floor or running away, which gave the man just enough time to get away from Han.

Han, who had ducked out of the way when he saw the gun, pulled out his own gun, but with the chaos that was going on around him, there was no way he could get a clear shot. He tried to go after the man, but he soon lost sight of him in the flow of scared people surrounding him. So he turned around and went back to the main way, trying to find the others.

In the mean time, Rome had run straight ahead after the Asian man. He was trying to keep up with the man, who was by far a faster runner than he, when suddenly; two gunshots were heard in the distance.

The sound made everyone in the station go into high alert, including a couple of security guards. One of them noticed the Asian man running away and told him to stop, but the man just kept on going. The guard called his colleagues, who intercepted the running man. Three security guards surrounded him, but they were clearly no match for the trained ex-soldier. In no time and with little effort, he had the three of them on the floor unconscious.

But that distraction had given Rome just enough time to catch up with him. Though seeing those guards go down so fast brought back Rome to the fact that he was about to get in a fight with someone who had special military training. The thought made him pause when he approached the Asian man, but it was already too late. It seems obvious that he had somehow recognized Rome and he didn't hesitate to go after him.

Rome was able to duck a few punches and throw some of his own, but in the end, he was just no match for the man who obviously knew a lot about hand-to-hand combat and marital arts. Besides, all that excitement and running around had really tired him out. He almost laughed at himself for being so out of shape.

Rome had started to think that his only option would be to make a run for it. In one last effort, Rome tried to punch the man in the face with all he had, but he ducked the punch. He then grabbed Rome's jacket and arm, turned his body around, and pushed him away. While Rome turned back around, the man took a few steps back and then launched himself at Rome in a dropkick, sending Rome through a glass wall that shattered on impact.

"Damn that hurt," let out Rome who could do nothing but watch his opponent run away while he remained knocked out flat on his back, hoping that the others where having better luck then he was.

* * *

From the moment they left the brewery, Letty knew they were being followed. She had seen Gisele run out of the car she had almost hit and it hadn't taken her long to recognize Han in the back seat. She had also identified in the front, the DSS agent that was working with Luke Hobbs – Riley – and one of Dom's new puppy dogs – Roman.

Owen had taught her from the very beginning of her training to never go on a mission without having at least two escape plans. That's why, when it seemed clear that they were going to get stuck in traffic, she had headed straight for the Underground so that the three of them could make a run for it, each with their own instructions to follow and a place to meet up.

She was glad that she didn't have to think of a quick way to escape, because her head was definitely not in the game. Her mind couldn't stop going over everything that had been said last night, but also everything that she had learned in the last 18 months. To say that she was distracted and confused would be an understatement.

She had never been one to over examine her conscious thoughts and feelings. She wasn't into self-reflection and all that introspective shit. She didn't over analyze what she did and said, and she never questioned her mental state.

Still, she knew who she was. Besides the obvious – being a racer and a mechanic – she was a damn good cook, a bad singer, and a loyal team member. She had a good, strong head on her shoulders and she always followed her gut instinct. She knew people thought of her as stubborn, but she preferred to think of herself as persistent and determined. She was self-assured and self-sufficient. She was tough, fearless, and fierce. And she was a badass criminal.

She knew she had a lot of faults too – like her bad temper, impatience, and short fuse – but she didn't dwell on them. She was always more focused on her weaknesses than her faults like her ability to trust people too much. She had been told by Owen that her loyalty, trust, and love in people like Mia and Dominic had not been returned. That she had been forgotten like she was a one night stand they regretted.

Until recently, she had thought that she could usually tell easily and quickly if a person was trustworthy or not. But recent years had made her question that ability – she had been told repeatedly by Owen that she had been wrong about Dom and now, she was being told by Dom that Owen was the one that had really lied.

Her emotions were all over the place and she had no idea who to believe.

When she had first met Owen Shaw, she hadn't trusted him. She thought that he looked suspicious and sinister, evil – well, she still thought that. He was dark and always looked to have malicious intent. She hadn't liked him at all. But he had really come through for her when everything went south with Braga, the feds, and her family. In the 18 months since she had joined his crew, she had learned to have great respect for the man and had learned to trust him. And although she didn't always agree with his methods and some of the restrictions he imposed on her, she enjoyed her life with her new team. She liked being needed and wanted – and pulling all those stunts.

And then there was Dom, her greatest weakness. She had always had the utmost trust in him. She had trusted him with her heart and with her life. And in the end, he had broken her heart and she had almost lost her life because of him – more than once.

She had always trusted him, believed him. She had thought that behind his big ego, cocky, over confident, flirting, self-centered, and bigger than life persona, that he was a caring, protective, generous, and honest man. She had truly believe that once he grew-up a little and got out of his system his need for adventures, that he would become an amazing family man - a loving husband and caring father - just like his dad had been. And that he wanted her – just like she wanted him – to be right by his side for all of it.

But then, he had left her behind in the Dominican Republic, in a way that had made it seem like it was for good this time, and she hadn't known what to think anymore. And after Owen had showed her all that evidence about her place in the life of those she considered family, all the lies that she had been told by them, she knew she had been made a fool. She had trusted her family – _him_ – when she shouldn't have. And she had known then that she was never going back.

She had made up her mind and had been content with her life's choices. But now, she just didn't know what to think anymore. Who should she trust? Her encounter with Dom and Brian the night before had left her unsettled. She had tried so hard to forget him, but now, once again, he was all she could think about. And she hated that, because it made her feel weak and vulnerable. She wanted to be free of him, of the hold he'd always had on her.

Everything they had told her last night had been so unexpected. And that kiss.

_Oh God, that kiss._

She was scared to death to think of what it meant and how it had made her feel…

"Letty, let's go!" Ivory yelled at her when he saw that she wasn't getting out of the car.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming. Don't forget to pick me up in an hour," Letty tensely replied before getting in the metro station and running towards the tunnel leading to the lower gallery.

She was almost to the stairway that lead down to the track, when she was grabbed by the arm and slammed face first in the tunnel wall.

"You didn't really think you were going to get away from me now, did you?" the female voice – Riley, Letty guessed – said to her while pinning her body in the wall and holding a gun to her head. "Now, why don't you be a good little girl for once, and just stand still," she added while twisting Letty's left arm behind her back and putting a handcuff around her wrist.

While Riley was struggling to put the handcuff on and keeping her gun to Letty's head, Letty managed to free her right arm and elbowed Riley in the chest, making her drop her gun and let go of Letty.

Letty turned around to face the other woman and got into fighting position, using the handcuffs as a knuckle ring. She turned her neck from left to right, popping it with a series of clicks in rapid succession. "Did you really think that you would take me in without a fight?" challenged Letty. Riley's face was scrunched up at having been disarmed by Letty. She mirrored Letty's position and got ready for the face off. Both women were holding the other's gaze firmly, waiting to see who would throw the first punch. "Don't hold back, 'cause I'm going to break you," Riley snarled at Letty. "Come on," she incited.

Letty didn't need more incentive. She threw two punches back-to-back, but Riley blocked them both with ease. On the second punch, she grabbed Letty's right arm and twisted her body around, enabling her to give Letty a back kick that sent her into the wall.

Riley quickly moved behind her and tried to get a hold of the handcuffs, but Letty managed to turn around and promptly put her fist to Riley's face.

The quick blow had opened Riley up for another attack and Letty obliged, putting a simple hard kick into the other woman's stomach, pushing her back against the other wall. Letty followed that up with a quick rising uppercut, making Riley cry out in pain.

Quickly, before Riley could respond with a follow-up, Letty swiftly punched Riley in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of the DSS agent, and stunning her for a brief moment.

Letty moved to take another shot at the woman, but Riley sidestepped to her left just enough so that Letty's fist passed a hairs breath from her shoulder. Riley took hold of Letty's arm and turned her around. She then used her knee to kick Letty in the back and send her into the wall again, the right side of her head hitting hard against the wall, but Letty hardly felt any pain because of the adrenaline rushing through her veins.

The two women were battling it out with everything they had, both giving and receiving hard blows all over their bodies. They were so wrapped up in the fight that they barely noticed the small crowd that had gathered in the tunnel to watch them fight.

Letty was starting to feel the energy draining out of her and she knew that she was losing some of her strength. She tried giving Riley a right hook, but was blocked, and Riley countered by sending her elbow into Letty's neck. Letty slightly bent over at the sharp pain, which allowed Riley to kick Letty in the stomach. She then grabbed her by both shoulders, twisted her body around and climbed on top of Letty, throwing them both on the ground, and sending Letty rolling to the ground and hitting her back hard against the concrete floor.

Seeing this, the crowd watching their fight let out a collective wince for the woman.

While Letty was momentarily stunned, Riley tried again to handcuff her. She was about to put her right wrist in, when Letty elbowed her in the stomach. The maneuver caught Riley off guard, which gave Letty just enough time to do a kick-up to quickly get back up, soon followed by Riley.

Their latest brawl had taken them dangerously close to the edge of the staircase which is probably why Letty heard in the distance the train approaching the station. She knew that she was running out of time that soon, Riley would have backup. She knew she needed to go, right now.

Without thinking too much about it, Letty took a step back and then launched herself at Riley who was standing right at the top of the staircase. They both went down Riley's back hitting the middle railing. They tumbled down the stairs together, landing hard at the bottom.

While Riley lay stunned on the ground, Letty used all the energy she had left to get up and run pass the people who were watching them and into the metro that was about to leave the station.

Letty got in the train just as the doors were closing. She had just enough time to turn around and nod at Riley before the train left the station, leaving the DSS agent behind.

* * *

After Han helped Rome get back on his feet, they went in search of Riley, to see if she'd had any luck with Letty. By the look on her face when they saw her walking towards them, they guessed not.

"By the long faces, I guess you guys didn't have any luck either," stated a still panting and angry Riley. "Well, at least we still have their car, right? You guys made sure it was still there, right?" asked Riley, getting annoyed with the pair. Rome and Han dumbly looked at each other shrugging, not having thought about it. "And you're supposed to be the ones helping us catch Shaw? Unbelievable," Riley mumbled to herself while she ran outside through the main door. She saw her own car parked out front, but no trace of the other vehicle.

"Damn, they're good!" let out an impressed Rome. But he quickly shut up when he saw Riley's death glare.

"Yeah well, be sure to tell that to Luke when we tell him that we lost them. Let's go get Gisele and see if we can get anything out of Terry," Riley commanded while walking towards her car. She had to call Luke and tell him what had happened, and let him know to never – ever – leave her alone with those guys again.

* * *

_Author's note: I haven't seen the movie. And although I've read a lot of spoilers, everything in my story was written before I knew any of them. So anything that happens to be true is purely a coincidence. Thank you!_


	15. Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

With everything that had happened that day, the team, plus Hobbs and Riley, decided to all meet in person that evening in order to go over the details together and figure out their next move. They decided to meet back in their hideout in Glasgow and Tej had things he was working on that he wanted to show them.

Hobbs had briefed everyone on the dead end they had reached concerning the location of the potential warehouse, and Riley had told the others what had went down with Terry and Shaw's crew. Gisele had told them that she hadn't been able to save Terry from the fire. It had been already out of control when she had gotten there and she hadn't been able to get Terry out. She had been shaken up by the whole ordeal, but was starting to come around thanks to Han who was staying close to her and his hand never left the small of her back.

It was just the sort of couple-y thing that reminded Dom of what was at stake and he became even more determined.

At the same time, Dom was not happy with what he was hearing about the day's events. Yes he had known that Letty was part of Shaw's team, but to know exactly what she was doing, her direct involvement, and participation in it, angered him. He scolded himself for not being there with them today. He was convinced that if he had gone with Riley instead of Hobbs, the outcome of the day would have been a lot different.

"So what do we do now?" asked a baffled Brian.

"Well, we're still looking into what went down at Atlantic Quay the other night. And I guess we should start digging more into Terry's life," offered a disheartened Hobbs.

"A'right, listen up. You guys are gonna loooove me!" a grinning Tej told them as he joined them at the table. "Ok, so you all know that Han planted a camera and mic for me in Terry's place, right? Well, right before all that shit went down, Terry received a phone call from his girlfriend."

"That's your big news? The guy had a girlfriend? Wow, good job man!" a sarcastic Rome interrupted, patting Tej on the back.

"Shut up and let the grown-ups talk, dickhead," an annoyed Hobbs shot back.

"Like I was saying, the guy was talking to his girlfriend and they started arguing about the fact that she had just found out that two weeks ago, he used her name and forged her signature to buy a building on the outskirts of London. And she was bitching because she thought he had no money. So I did some digging and found out that he actually had just bought a big empty factory, using his girlfriend's name and he paid in cash. The place seems to fit what you're looking for Hobbs," Tej said proudly, handing him a file containing the location and some pictures of the place.

"Wow, good job Tej," an impressed Giselle offered, her mood seemingly improved.

"Yep, but that's not all. I've got even more good news. While talking on the phone, Terry was working on his computer and at one time, he was actually looking at this," Tej told them, pulling a few copies of the same print out and handing them out.

"Is that-" started to ask an amazed Dom.

"Yeah, that is a list of weapons, with a location, date, and time," answered an eager Tej.

"That's in three days, in London's harbor. Do you think it's a meeting place for a sale they've made?" inquired Brian looking over the document.

"It definitely looks like it," offered Tej.

"Why are those three things highlighted?" asked Han going over the list with Gisele.

"Because everything on that list has been reported stolen by the military-" reported Tej.

"Except for those three things. Got it," finished Han.

"Which means either they haven't been reported stolen or maybe-" continued Tej.

"They haven't been stolen yet," completed a pensive Hobbs.

"That's exactly what I've been thinking. And since those things aren't modified Top Secret devices, I doubt it's the first one. So, I started looking around, to see if any military convoy was scheduled to pass through here or London in the next couple of days." Tej then paused, looking at everyone around the table.

"So? Come on. Stop messing with us and tell us already. Did you found anything?" asked a fidgeting Rome.

"Nope. Nothing. It appears that that piece of information is very well guarded … at Atlantic Quay!" finished a very proud Tej.

"Fuck!" offered a stunned Brian.

"Well, I'll be damned!" added a laughing Hobbs. "You guys _are_ good! Who would've thought?"

"Told you, you guys would love me," smiled Tej.

"A'right, here's what we're gonna do," Hobbs started, thinking out loud. "Tomorrow morning, Riley and I will go down to Atlantic Quay and see about any military convoy or an army base in the area that could be storing those three things. After that, we'll take a couple of men and go investigate Terry's factory. I suggest you guys get down to London and start scoping out that meeting location in London's harbor, see what you can find. And be ready to go at a moments notice – if they pull a heist, I want you there."

Hobbs took a pause and then looked at everyone around the table. "It looks like we have three days to catch them – either when they retrieve those missing pieces or at that meeting place. After that, I bet you anything that they'll be out of here to start wreaking havoc someplace else, with a lot more pissed off people hot on their trail. And I know that's not an option for you guys," Hobbs added looking pointedly at Dom. "So this might be our only real chance to get them. We need to make it count," instructed Hobbs.

"Way to go with the motivational speech, chief!" replied Rome mocking the DSS agent.

"And keep that asshole as far away from me as possible," replied an annoyed Hobbs.

* * *

After Jah and Ivory had picked her up, Letty had called Owen to let him know what had happened. She reported what she had gotten out of Terry; that two women – she guessed Riley and Gisele – had come asking questions about the stuff he had for sale, but he had sworn that he hadn't told them anything and that the two women had left without asking too many questions. But since she had seen Han and Rome in the car with them, she told Owen that she suspected that they had been snooping around while the girls distracted Terry. So they couldn't be sure of what they actually knew about what was going to go down in the next few days. She also wasn't sure of what had happened to Terry, since she had seen Gisele run towards the shed. She had then filled him in on the car chase and their escape at the Tube station.

Owen hadn't been pleased with the whole Terry thing, but overall, he seemed satisfied with the outcome and how she had handled the whole deal.

She was happy for once not to be the one driving. Her head was killing her and she felt like every part of her body ached. She just wanted to rest her eyes and forget about everything that had happen in her life in the last two years. She fell asleep, her head resting on the car window, dreaming of a secluded beach in paradise…

* * *

"What's wrong?" Vegh asked Owen when she saw him frown after he hung up his cell phone. They had been going over the maps of the itinerary for the military convoy, to finalize their plan.

Owen paused for a moment and then left without acknowledging her.

He went outside and made a call to one of his contacts and found out that Terry had actually died in the fire. 'Good' he thought, 'one less thing to worry about'. He really should have known better than to be pressured into using the brother of a business associate to handle the logistics of this sale.

He now had to figure out what they were going to do about the rest of the equipment stored with Terry, the convoy, and the sale.

He had clearly underestimated Toretto and his team. Now it looked like he was going to have to change the plans in a very short time because of them.

He needed to find a way to get rid of them. Otherwise, they could get in the way of everything he had planned. He also knew that Dominic's presence had rattled Letty, whether or not she liked to show it. He could not risk her compromising their plans just because her ex-boyfriend was back. And if he couldn't get rid of them temporarily, then it would have to be permanently…

* * *

When they got back to the hideout, Jah and Ivory immediately went to find Owen to give him their report. He was again with Vegh, on the second floor of the shed, figuring out a new plan.

Letty, who felt better after her nap in the car and taking some pain pills, decided to do some light work on her car to relax after the day she had had. She let out a small smile thinking of good old Jesse and how he used to say that there was something about engines that always calmed him down.

She had been at it for an hour – only concentrating on her car and nothing else – when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs from the second floor. She watched with apprehension as Owen made his way towards her. By the look on his face she could tell he meant business and she got an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

He stood beside her, not saying a word, just examining her but she didn't look up at him.

Letty tensed when she felt him move a strand of hair from her face.

"You a'right Letty?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little sore, that's all," she replied slowly, turning around to face him.

"You did good today," Owen told her in a soft voice but still with a menacing tone.

"Although" he paused. "Things could have been a lot worse if Terry hadn't died in that fire. We got lucky. I know you hate using your gun Letty, but it was very reckless of you to leave him still breathing," Owen reprimanded, still talking quietly. Letty bowed her head in shame, knowing that her actions could've had serious repercussions for all of them. It had been her responsibility to deal with Terry, but in the end, it was the fire started by Jah and Ivory that had took care of him.

Letty still felt like she had blood on her hands. She found it hard to deal with the amount of injury and death her new team left in their wake. It had led her to many sleepless nights but she made sure to never let the guilt show.

"Next time we may not get so lucky but what's done is done. Now, we need to make some alterations to our plan. We don't know yet what Hobbs and his team found out today, so we need to put our heads together and come up with an alternative plan. Come work upstairs with us – I need your input on what we've got so far," he prompted her, gently putting a hand on her lower back and guiding her towards the stairs.

They were half way up, with Owen's hand still on her back, when he leaned in towards her and whispered in her ear "Oh and Letty? I know that you know how to shoot. Next time, don't aim for the shoulder. You wouldn't want to be caught in the crossfire now, would you?"

Letty tensed at the words but nodded and marched up the rest of the stairs, trying to put as much distance between her and Owen as she could without letting him know how disturbed his statement had made her.

For the first time since joining the crew, Letty felt she might be in over her head.


	16. Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Early the next morning, before leaving for London to investigate the harbor, Dom had a surprise for his family. Since he knew they were risking a lot for him – to get his Letty back – he wanted to do something special for them. So he took them down to the basement of the building that housed their hideout.

"Ok, what's this all about?" asked a half-awake Rome. "What's up with waking us up at the butt crack of dawn to take us to some dirty unfinished basement? Are we getting whacked?"

Before Rome made another smart comment, Dom opened the door and let them in.

Their eyes grew wide when they saw an impressive selection of modified cars and motorbikes.

"Man, wake me up anytime you want," an overly excited Rome shouted going from one car to the next.

"You have an hour to take your pick and get ready. Then, we're out of here for London," Dom commanded standing beside his Dodge Charger waiting for them to make their choices.

In the end, Han and Gisele opted for motorbikes – an American Harley-Davidson for him and an Italian Ducati for her –, Tej chose a green and yellow 1959 Lister Roadster, Rome went for a white 1969 Ford Mustang, and Brian fell in love with a small blue 1970 Mark 1 Ford Escort.

* * *

While the team was getting ready to leave for London, Hobbs and Riley went to Atlantic Quay, requesting to take a look at their records in search of the three missing military items on the list. It took over an hour to convince them and then another hour to actually get access to the file. The place was actually in complete chaos, the commotion caused by the fact that during the night, they had found the body of their head of security in the basement, with a bullet in the head.

By the time they found those three things in the same truck, they realized that the shipment was already on the road, in a military convoy that had left its base that same morning. The itinerary had it coming in and out of many different motorways, never staying on the same one for too long. Shaw's team could be just about anywhere down that road, but Hobbs suspected that they would hit sooner rather than later.

Hobbs was able to convince the Scottish authorities that that specific military convoy was about to be the target of a heist. They contacted the drivers of the three vehicles involved in the convoy – a Jeep Land Rover Defender in the front, the military truck in the middle and a Jeep Renault Magnum at the rear end. They hadn't seen anything unusual so far, but they would be on the look out. Hobbs ask to be kept inform at all times of their position in order to send backup if needed.

After getting a team of DSS soldiers to go after the convoy and securing a chopper for himself and Riley, Hobbs made the call to his other team.

"Hello?" Dom answered on his cell phone.

"Toretto, its Hobbs. We found the convoy. It's moving as we speak. Where are you guys?"

"On the road to London. Where are they?" Dom responded eagerly. The prospect of coming face to face with Shaw's crew – and Letty – was making him antsy.

"Right now, they're on the M6, just outside of Penrith going towards Glasgow," Hobbs replied while getting ready to board his chopper.

"We're closing in on Moffat on A74. If we floor it, we can probably catch up to them in less than 30 minutes," estimated Dom looking at the GPS map on his dashboard.

"Good. Riley and I are boarding a chopper that will take us there. Have Tej call me so that we can coordinate our radio frequencies and GPS," Hobbs finally said before ending the call and getting in.

Dom wasted no time in grabbing his CB radio and telling the others that there was a change of plan.

* * *

"A'right. Everyone knows what they have to do? They should be here any minute now. We're gonna have to do this quickly and precisely since we know the convoy has backup coming in. And Toretto and his team are on their way," Owen added fixing Letty with a cold stare.

"Turn on your head gear and make sure your mic is working. I want us to always be in contact no matter what."

Letty, Jah, and Denlinger all nodded and followed Owen's instructions. Denlinger was in the front seat of his Jeep, while the other three were all in the back. They were on a dirt road, hiding under a small bridge, waiting for the military convoy to pass them.

Letty was having a hard time staying focused. She knew she had to talk to Owen about what she had learned from Dom and Brian, but she wasn't ready to confront him yet.

She hated to admit it, but she was scared of the outcome. She was afraid to learn the truth, to know who was lying to her – Owen, _or Dom_. She wasn't ready to think of what it meant if Owen had been lying to her for the last 18 months. Or to know that Dom and Brian had lied to her in her face.

Her heart was telling her that Dom was telling her the truth. Her head, on the other hand, told her that Owen had no reason to lie to her, that he had nothing to gain from lying to her.

And right now, she didn't even know _who_ she actually wanted to be right. She wasn't ready to face the fact that maybe her absence had been just as hard on Dom as his had been on her.

She wasn't ready to forgive him for leaving her in the DR. And she wasn't ready to face the fact that the thought of him chasing _her_ for once, made her heart flutter.

And she hated to admit it, but that kiss they had shared had been on her mind since it had happened, confusing her even more about her feelings.

She just wanted to get this series of jobs done, and then… well, she didn't actually know what would happen then. All she knew was that Owen would never let her leave his team alive. By now, he would either have to be dead or locked up for her to be free of him.

And even then, she knew that she would still be a target – her and everyone around her.

But it also looked like Dom wouldn't give up on her without a fight. She knew how pig-headed he got when he wanted something – _especially_ something he couldn't have.

"They're coming. It's show time," Denlinger informed them, getting ready to go after the convoy.

In an effort to free her mind and concentrate better, Letty stood up while the Jeep started going, Jah doing the same besides her. The wind blowing in her face was helping her focus on the task at hand.

As soon as the convoy passed them, Delinger went up full speed on the dirt road and merged into the motorway, going after the three vehicles. Without slowing down, he smashed his Jeep with the rear bumper of the military Jeep, making it jump forward towards the back of the truck. The Jeep's CB radio immediately picked up the call for help from the military Jeep, but it was already too late for them. Jah had gotten on top of it, followed closely by Owen, and had shot both passengers. Owen and Jah had just enough time to jump on a ladder on the back of the military truck before the Jeep swirled and crashed on the side of the road. They then made their way to the top of it.

In the mean time, Denlinger had pulled up to the side of the truck and Letty had jumped out, holding on to a ladder that was on the side of the truck. She climbed up and met Jah and Owen on top. They had already started drilling the top of the truck to get inside.

While they were taking care of the truck, Denlinger took care of the first Jeep of the convoy, by going passed it and flipping it over using a rocket-propelled wire that extended mid air across the road.

In no time, Letty, Jah, and Owen were inside the military truck and Denlinger was speeding off in front of them.

* * *

"Toretto, we just got news that the convoy is under attack by a team of four in a modified Jeep. They already got rid of the two Jeeps that were escorting the military truck. The driver reported that two men and one woman have actually climbed on top of his truck, but he can't see them no more," Hobbs informed the team on their CB radio.

"_Letty_," Dom whispered to himself, his foot instantly pressing harder down on the gas.

"According to the GPS, I should be there in about 5 minutes," Hobbs continued.

"We should be reaching them in a few miles," Dom confirmed half hearing him, his mind now solely focus on getting Letty off that truck.

"So, what are we supposed to do when we see them," Rome nervously asked over the radio.

"Don't do anything. For now, you guys just follow them at a safe distance. Make sure you don't lose them. I'll take care of them when I get there," Hobbs commanded.

"What do you mean you'll take care of them? Are you going to shoot them down?" Dom questioned, his temper starting to rise.

"My men and I will handle it, Toretto. You guys just stay out of the way," Hobbs ordered.

'My men and I will handle it,' Dom murmured under his breath. That was just not good enough for him.

"Uh guys? Suspicious modified Jeep coming towards us at full speed on the other side of the motorway," reported Tej on his CB.

"Han, Gisele, take that opening and go after it," instructed Dom right away in his CB. They immediately drove through a small opening in the median strip of the motorway and did a U-turn in order to catch up with the runaway Jeep.

Dom's attention went right back to catching up with the military truck. He knew Letty was on that truck – he could just feel it. There was no way he was going to let Hobbs take it down. He picked up his cell and hit the speed dial for Tej's cell.

"Dom? What's up?" a surprised Tej answered.

"I want you to take the next exit, get on that bridge and wait there. I want you out of the way and ready to get Letty out of here in no time, no matter what. You got me?" Dom told Tej.

"A'right man. I'm on it," Tej agreed.

Dom called the others to let them know what he had asked of Tej. He wanted to make sure that they all knew their number one priority was getting Letty safely out of that truck and away from Hobbs – _and Shaw_.

Tej had barely stepped out of his car on top of the bridge when he heard the chopper coming in the distance. But it wasn't the chopper getting closer that got his attention.

"Uh guys? They got a tank!" Tej told the others looking in the distance from his place on higher grounds.

"Damn!" answered Hobbs in awe, looking out the window of his chopper with Riley. They were still miles away but they could already see the tank make its way on the motorway and crushing every car that got in its way.

Dom couldn't believe it when he saw the tank coming on the other side of the road.

Although he would never admit it, he was kind of impressed – and a bit jealous – that they were driving a tank. He was, however, more enraged than anything by the fact that they were crushing all those cars along the way.

Just as they were passing the tank, he saw an opening in the median strip. He wasted no time in taking it and doing a U-turn to go after it, followed by Brian and Rome.

"We've got to stop that tank before it does more damage. But we can't shoot it right now, there's too many civilians around," Hobbs told the team.

"Does he actually expect _**us**_ to stop that _**tank**_!" Rome called out on his CB.

"Man, we've got to found a way to stop it from crashing all those cars," Brian replied.

Dom was about to answer him when he saw the tank go trough the concrete median strip and change lanes, crashing more cars along the way. Without thinking about it, Rome followed him on the other side of the road through the opening it had caused, while Dom and Brian kept going the right way.

In an effort to stop the tank from hitting more incoming cars, Rome drove his Mustang right in front of the tank. He stayed just far enough so that he wouldn't get crunched, but at the same time, close enough so that the tank couldn't reach any more cars.

* * *

In no time, Han and Gisele had caught up with the runaway Jeep. Han pulled up next to it on its left side, while Gisele approached it on the right. Without missing a beat, they both jumped on it at the same time, grabbing on to its sides and pulling themselves up, leaving their bikes to crash behind them.

Standing up in the Jeep, Gisele wasted no time in putting her handgun to the man's head.

"Keep your hands on the wheel where we can see them. Slow the car down and park it by the side of the road. NOW!" Gisele yelled at him.

A small smirk appeared on the man's face and before they knew it, he had crashed the Jeep at full speed in the back of a minivan. The impact caused Han and Gisele – who were standing up – to lose their footing and get thrown out of the Jeep, knocking them out.

Although stunned, the driver, who had had his seat belt on, managed to get himself out of the car. He had barely put both feet on the ground, when a black Suzuki Jimny stopped right beside him, the passenger's door opening without the car even being fully stopped, letting the man get in and driving off in no time.

* * *

Inside the Vickers-Armstrong FV 4201 Chieftain tank, Owen was seated in the gunner's seat, Letty was on his right in the driver's seat, while Jah was in the back acting as the loader.

They had transferred in the tank all the equipment they needed that had been stored in the military truck, before bursting the tank out of it through the front.

"Hmm, looks like we've got company," Owen noted as he recognized Dom's car and seeing it do a U-turn with two others cars, going after them.

In an effort to put some distance between the tank and Dom's team, Letty drove through the median strip of the motorway. She was trying to avoid as many collisions as possible, but the tank was just too large for the road.

A car from Dom's team – a white Mustang – followed them to the other side of the road. It passed them and pulled right in front of the tank.

Quickly assessing the situation, a smirk appeared on Owen's face as he rotated the tank's gun, pointing it towards a bridge, and pressed down on the trigger just before Dom's car went under it.

Letty's entire body tensed when she realized what Owen had just done. She held her breath and didn't let it out until the smoke cleared and she saw Dom's car safe and sound on the other side of the destroyed bridge.

Letty was so concerned with Dom's wellbeing that she didn't notice Owen watching her.

She then caught sight of another of Dom's team car – a Ford escort. She saw it jump over the damage and the median strip, and then land smoothly right in front of them. The move told her that this was no regular driver behind the wheel – it was Brian, she just knew it.

The crash seemed to have distracted the driver of the car ahead of them, because before she knew it, he had slowed down and she had caught up with it. The tank was slowly climbing on top of it, crushing it.

She recognized the black man getting out from the previous day – _Roman_. She saw him climb on top of his car and jump on top of the Ford escort, grabbing on to it for dear life. The car slowed down and moved back into the right lane by using an opening in the median strip.

She was brought out of her fascination with the stunt she had just witnessed by Owen firing another shot on the other side of the road, towards Dom and Brian's car, but missing them.

"We're almost to the bridge. You know what you have to do, Letty. Don't fail us," Owen warned Letty in a cold tone.

"I got this, don't worry," Letty confidently replied.

* * *

"A'right that's enough. I'm not about to let them shoot their way to wherever they're trying to take that tank to. Toretto. O'Connor. Stay back so you don't get caught in the crossfire," Hobbs told the team over the radio.

"No way! You're not shooting them down Hobbs. I won't let you," Dom answered back angrily. He was trying to find a way to cross over to the other side to get close to the tank, but couldn't find one.

"Believe it or not, but I don't want to kill them. I want to catch them. Alive. We're just gonna do enough damage to slow them down," Hobbs shouted back.

Dom, Brian and Tej were all having a hard time moving forward on the motorway. They had to dodge accidents and cars parked in the middle of the road everywhere. At one point, they even thought they saw Han and Gisele sitting by the side of the road on a concrete railing.

Dom was still looking for a way to the other side, when he saw the chopper get into position in front of the tank and fire. Dom's heart stopped when he saw the explosion. Fortunately, the damage to the tank wasn't much. There was smoke coming out from under it, but it was still going.

He then saw the canon of the tank lift and a ball of fire crossed the sky, missing his target – the chopper – by only a few inches. Instead, the shot took down a large piece of a bridge that was coming ahead in the tank's path. If the tank didn't stopped, it would plunge down in the hole it had made and crash.

Instead of slowing down, he saw the tank's canon get into position again and take another shot at the chopper. This time, it hit its tail rotor.

"Fucking piece of shit. We've gotta land now. Damn! You guys better stay on them or I'm gonna have your asses. Besides, with the bridge down, it's not like they're going anywhere anyway. Just keep an eye on them and don't lose them. My men and I are going to be there in a few. Try not to do anything stupid. And keep in mind that they are well armed and trained to use those weapons," Hobbs told them in a hurried tone.

Dom, Brian and Tej had finally crossed to the other side of the motorway and were following the tank – straight towards the missing piece of road.

"What's wrong with them? Why aren't they stopping?" asked Rome who was now seating in the passenger seat of Brian's car.

Brian didn't have time to answer him because the sight of someone climbing out of the still moving tank distracted him. "Are you guys seeing this? Is that-"

"_Letty_" Dom screamed through his open window. Chills ran through his entire body as he saw her get on top of the tank and look around, clearly looking for a way to get off. She was trying to get away, but from whom? From Shaw or from Hobbs?

She really didn't have any choice; if she wanted to leave the tank, she would have to jump off – and Dom knew that he would be right there to catch her.

He found a small opening and was able to drive passed the tank, catching Letty's eyes in the process. He went ahead of them and then stopped his car by the side of the road, out of the way. With shaky hands, he opened his door, got out of his car and walked to the middle of the road. He hid behind cars, trying to cover up his location. The tank was coming towards him – and the missing bridge – at about 30 mph.

He once again cried out Letty's name, trying to make her look at him. He wanted her to know that he was there for her, that he would catch her, but she looked uncertain and uneasy about trusting him.

The tank had almost reached him and she seemed to still be looking for another way out.

"Come on, Letty, jump. _I've got you_," he yelled at her, seeing the indecision in her eyes.

She looked around one more time, and then locked eyes with him. He gave her a small nod to let her know that he was ready for her.

She walked to the edge of the tank getting ready to jump, while Dom leaned against the side of a stopped car that wasn't in the tank's path. Brian and Tej had parked their car behind Dom's and were making their way with Roman towards him. They crouched behind some cars, getting ready to step in if needed.

It seemed like time stood still and that everyone around was looking at them when Letty finally jumped into the waiting arms of Dom. The collision propelled them on top of the car Dom's was leading on.

"I've got you," Dom kept whispering in her ear, holding her tightly to his body as close as he could, her head finding its way into the crook of his neck and her arms around his torso. He was so relieved that she was safe in his arms again. He never wanted to let her go.

Dom leaned his head back and Letty looked up at him at the same time. Time seemed to stand still as the two of them stared at each other. He was mesmerized by the look in her eyes and she seemed to be in awe as well.

"_Letty_," he whispered.

That seemed to break their spell.

He felt her move back, untangling herself for him and pushing herself off the car. "I've got to go," she told him stepping back, her head down, not able to meet his eyes again.

"What?" he finally was able to let out in disbelieve through his tight throat.

"I've got to go," she repeated more firmly, lifting her head to meet his eyes.

After what happened between them just now and the other night, he couldn't believe the cold look she was giving him now.

He was so shocked by the fact that she was going back to them- _to Shaw_ – that he couldn't do anything but just stand there, his body stiffened, his hands clenched so tightly into fits that his knuckles were white. He watched as she turned around and started to leave.

"NO!" he roared, catching up to her in a few strides and grabbing both her arms tightly, forcefully bringing her back flushed against his front.

"Dom, let me go," Letty struggle, trying to get out of his strong grip.

"No way, Letty. You can't go back. I won't let you leave me this time," Dom's firm voice commanded.

"_You won't let me?_ I don't need your permission to do anything. I'm not yours anymore, remember? You gave me up. You have no say in what I do or don't do," Letty argued back, still struggling to get out of the firm grasp he had on her.

Unfazed by Letty's comment, Dom wrapped both arms around her frame and held her even more tightly, making her stop moving and her body tensed instantly. He brought his nose in her hair and took a deep breath to calm himself. He gently nuzzled her neck and kissed the sensitive spot behind her ear.

"Dom…" Letty's voice waver, almost moaning. She closed her eyes feeling her heart beat faster being in Dom's arms than when she had jump off that tank. She could barely breathe, the warm feeling of being in his arms again making her dizzy. She was having a hard time concentrating on what she had to do.

"Please, baby. Stay with me. _Please,_" his deep raspy voice begged softly into her ear.

He was begging her to stay. He had never done that before – in all the times they had gone their separate ways, he had never pleaded with her to stay with him.

She felt the power – the hold – he had always had on her slowly creep back into every corner of her being. She had to get away from him before it was too late, but it was getting harder and harder to do so. "I can't Dom," she told him in a small voice. "You have to let me go," she added lowly.

"No" he said in a desperate voice, still holding on tightly.

"Please. I have to go. I … I have to," she pleaded with him.

"I can't. I can't let you go. I can't, not knowing if I'll ever see you again," he confessed.

"Dom, I … please … maybe … what if …" Letty stopped and took a deep breath. "Let me go now and I'll meet up with you later, just the two of us, away from everything. We'll talk, I promise. I'll meet you tonight, at midnight, at the old power station outside of London," she bargained with him.

"And you'll be there? You promise?" he questioned skeptically. He didn't know if he could actually trust this new Letty.

Turning around in his arms, she put her small hands on his cheeks and lightly kissed his soft lips "I promise," she told him holding his gaze.

Looking deep into her dark eyes, he saw that she was telling him the truth. So he nodded, gently pressed his lips to hers again and then let her pull back from his embrace.

After giving him one last look, Letty turned around and ran towards the team's parked car without looking back. She jumped in the driver's seat of Tej's Lister Roadster that was still running, did a U-turn and drove off.

"What the hell? She's leaving with my new car!" yelled an annoyed Tej.

"Who cares about your stupid car, man? We've got bigger fish to fry," answered Rome.

Hearing Rome words, Dom and Brian looked at each other, realizing that they had lost sight of the tank. Turning around, they couldn't see it anymore. They figured that it had fallen down in the hole from the missing bridge, but there had been no explosion, no fire, nothing.

They all ran towards the edge, curious to see what was going on.

When they got there, they couldn't believe the sight in front of them. It appears that the tank had simply driven down a hill on a side road that went below the bridge. The tank had been left at the bottom, its top open and they could see in the distance a small truck leaving the scene in a hurry.

Shaw's team had actually pulled their heist off.

"Damn, she's good!" Rome told them in amazement.

"What? Who?" questioned Brian, not understanding his comment.

"Letty. She's good. She managed to get everyone's attention and make us forget about the tank. They probably wouldn't have pulled it off if it hadn't been for her," Rome stated confidently.

Dom couldn't believe Rome was right – she had manipulated them – _him_ – in order to let her team make their exist. His jaw clenched at the realization that she had used the fact that he cared about her, that he wanted her safe, to help her team. He was seeing red. If she didn't show up to their meeting place tonight and explain this to him, there would be hell to pay.

He was getting her out of this life, even if he had to tie her up and put her in the trunk of his car to do it. He was confident that after tonight, it would all be over.


	17. Chapter 14 - Part 1

CHAPTER FOURTEEN - PART 1

To say that Hobbs had been mad when he'd learned about Shaw's team getting away would have been an understatement. Dom had never seen the DSS Agent so infuriated; he actually thought that steam would come out of his ears like a cartoon character.

It hadn't been an easy feat to convince Hobbs to let him go alone to meet Letty, but in the end, he trusted Dom to bring her back with him to help them catch Shaw.

Dom had showed up at the old abandoned power station an hour early. He knew that Letty would be right on time – that was _if_ she came. He laughed to himself remembering the many times she had scolded him for being late somewhere. He sure as hell wasn't going be late tonight.

He had taken the time to walk around and explore the grounds and building. The place looked sinister and it was giving him the creeps. The structure was run-down and in ruins, but strangely enough, the power was still on.

With only 20 minutes to spare, he settled himself in the main room. The large space was dusty and bare. It was mostly deserted, except for an old spiral staircase that led to the second floor, and some crates and tarps thrown in one corner.

He suspected that Letty and her team had used this place recently to store weapons and cars. If the smell of metal and gas – and something else lingering in the air he couldn't place – didn't give it away, the fresh tires tracks on the ground sure did. That and the fact that the lights in the main room had still been on when he walked in, led him to believe that they had been here earlier in the evening, which gave him a real uneasy feeling about the whole thing. After the stunt she had pulled this morning, he was starting to question Letty's motives. He didn't want to think about it, but in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but wonder if she could have set him up; wondered if he could still trust her.

He finally decided to stop pacing around and sit on one of the sturdier crates that were lying around. He felt anxious, not knowing how their talk would turn out. But he was ready to face her. He knew tonight he would have to get out of his comfort zone and really talk to her – he had too much to lose this time to remain tight-lipped.

Not able to remain seated for too long, he got up and started pacing again. He eventually picked up another crate and placed it right in front of his for her to sit on. He picked it right up and moved it back a couple of feet. He went back and forth a couple times, debating about the best distance to put between them.

Frustrated with himself, he eventually just threw the crate against the wall where it shattered. He knew perfectly well that she would never sit were he told her to, just to spite him. He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face thinking of how infuriating she always used to make him.

He couldn't wait for her to get here. He was torn between battling it out right here, right now, or telling her to forget everything that happened in the past and just start fresh. He didn't want to waste any more time; he just wanted to be with her. He wanted to skip over the part where they would inevitably hurt each other, and just get to the good part, where everything was said and done, and they started healing, living their life together.

Forgive, forget, and move on; that's what he wanted. He just hoped that's what she wanted too.

* * *

Letty sat in her car parked next to Dom's, trying to relax before joining him. The day's event had left her physically and mentally drained, and she was dreading the confrontation they were about to have.

It had been easy – too easy she thought – leaving alone tonight. Usually, one of the guys always offered – sometimes even insisted – to accompany her when she went back to the warehouses they'd used, to make sure they hadn't left any evidence behind and to erase the tire's tracks but not tonight.

They had all been very pleased with her for keeping Dom and his team away from them during the exchange. They told her that she had showed everyone to whom her allegiances belonged to. But the grim look Owen had been giving her all day had told her that he wasn't as easily convinced.

Taking one last deep breath, she threw her car door open and got out. As she got closer to the door, she couldn't help feeling like she was getting ready for battle. She didn't know what would come out of this talk – what _she_ wanted out of it – but she knew she couldn't put it off anymore. She had to go in and face him.

* * *

The first thing Letty noticed when she walked in the main room was Dom sitting on a crate in the middle of the room, his elbows resting on his knees while his hands cradled his head. He seemed lost in thought and he hadn't heard her come in. There was another crate placed about 5 feet in front of him, clearly left by him for her to sit on. She was tempted to go sit on the stairs on the other side of the room just to piss him off, but decided not to push his buttons – he already looked all riled up and stressed out.

As she got closer, she took a good look at the man he had become over the years and she couldn't help but feel some sympathy for him; for all the grief and heartache he had been through in his life. But then she remembered that a lot of his pain had been caused by his own shortcomings and she felt her heart hardening.

As she got closer, she mentally prepared herself for the confrontation that was about to take place. She was ready to let him set the pace and follow his lead. If he wanted to talk, she would talk. If he wanted a shouting match, well, bring it on.

She was ready for him.

"I wasn't sure you were gonna show up," he started without lifting his head from his hands.

"Unlike you, I keep my promises," she shot back bitterly staying standing and folding her arms across her chest.

"This how we gonna do this?" he asked softly, barely lifting his head to look into her eyes. "Yelling, throwing accusations left and right?" he added in a defeated tone.

She rolled her eyes at him, shaking her head in annoyance. She took a deep breath to calm herself, uncrossed her arms and sat on the crate he had left for her.

"You wanted to talk, so talk," she said, her voice toneless.

"We've got a lot of things to sort through, but I want to make one thing clear before we start – I'm not letting you go. Whatever happened or will happen, whether you want to or not, you're mine," he said to her with certainty, sounding almost like a threat. "You've got a lot of explaining to do – we both do. And we aren't leaving here until we've dealt with all our shit. But the bottom line is, from now on, we stick together, no matter what."

He could see the resentment at his words in her tired face, that she wanted to argue with him about it, but he also saw something else in her eyes, something that she was trying to hide from him: relief. She felt relief to hear him say that, even if she didn't want to admit it. Seeing this alleviated his own pain and filled his heart with hope that they would get through this.

"Start with Shaw," he prompted in a calm tone before she had time to challenge him.

Biting back an angry response, she composed herself and carefully told him "I met Owen the night I was recruited by Campos – well Braga. I don't know exactly what deal they had going, but I know that Owen's the one that told Braga that some of his drivers were working undercover for the Feds; that's why they started shooting them down after they were done driving. Owen had known everything about me – about you and the others – even before I was recruited as a driver."

"How?" he asked curious.

Smirking, she told him, "Owen once told me that everyone has a price, a weakness or something to hide, _especially_ federal agents. You've just gotta know what it is."

"So he knew you were working undercover when you were recruited by Braga because he had an insider at the Bureau?" he asked to clarify. She simply nodded in response. "How d'you end up going from Braga to Shaw then, if he knew you were working for the FBI? Wasn't he scared you'd turn on him?"

"While learning about me through my FBI file, Owen took a liking to me…" she instantly put one hand up to stop him when she saw him start to get up in a blind rage.

"Stop! Sit your ass back down and let me finish," she sternly told him. She almost laughed out loud when he plopped down pouting, nearly falling off his crate.

Composing herself, she continued, "It wasn't like that. He was… _intrigued_ by me – by what I was willing to do, well, for you," she said bowing her head so he wouldn't see the emotion in her eyes as she remembered the devotion she used to feel for him.

"He realized that I really didn't give a shit about Braga; that I was only doing it for my own personal gain. Owen told me he had been impressed by my rap sheet and my driving skills; said he saw a lot of potential in me, but mostly, it was the fact that our team had been able to make a cop – Brian – turn from the law and actually defend us, even knowing that we were guilty, that grabbed his attention."

Letty took a breath before continuing.

"So he kept a close eye on me. The day of the job for Braga, when all the cars were being searched for tracking devices, Owen came up to me and slipped me a piece of paper without anyone noticing. He had written down instructions for me to follow, warning me about the fact that they were going to kill all the drivers after the drop. He told me exactly what to do and where to go to get away from them and meet him. He wrote that he had a proposition for me. With that note, Owen saved my life that night," she told him truthfully.

This time, it was his turn to bow his head. He couldn't look at her while she told him how _he_ had saved her. "Why didn't he just ask Braga for you to join his crew?" he managed to choke out, despite the growing lump in his throat.

"Because he wanted to test me – see if I could follow directions and see if I would come out of it alive," she answered quietly.

At her words, fury washed over his face. This time, she didn't have time to stop him before he was out of his seat and in her face. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "Are you kidding me? You're _grateful_ that he saved your life, when he could have just pulled you out of there in the first place?" he snapped at her.

She put her hands on his chest and pushed him away forcefully while getting up. Her fists were clenched and she was gasping for breath. "Considering the fact that I was there _because of you_, I don't think you're one to talk," she shot back bitterly.

He looked down at the floor with his hands at his hips. She could see him drawing his thoughts together before finally raising his head to look at her. "I never asked you to do that for me. I left you to keep you safe. Not for you to go and put your life on the line for me," he argued his face unreadable.

"And what was I supposed to do, huh, Dom? What did you think would actually happen to me once you left me behind – after you promised me you wouldn't, huh? Don't you know me at all? I did what I know, Dom. What I've learned _from you_. This life, pulling jobs, this is me. This is what I do – all I've _ever_ done," she couldn't help but yell at him.

He straightened, throwing back his shoulders, his face hardening; and although he looked confident, his voice was anything but, "I… I thought… you'd go to Rio… see Vince like we talked about. And then maybe, you'd go visit Leon in Spain and then Mia in LA. I thought you'd go see everyone while I figured some shit out, and then… I don't know… I thought…" he let out a heavy sight in frustration, letting his shoulders drop. "I thought I'd send out clues and you'd come and find me again," he admitted sheepishly without looking at her.

"So I was just supposed to know that was the plan? I was supposed to read your mind? To play the good passive girlfriend and just do what you expected of me, without having any say in it? And you expected me to run after you? Again? Well, _fuck you_! I can't believe this." She started pacing around the room like a caged animal, murmuring to herself.

Dom sighed and looked around the room, helplessly. He wasn't good with words and he didn't know what to say to her to calm her down. Truth was, she was right; he shouldn't have left her the way he did. He should have talked to her and not just expected her to sit on her ass and wait for him. After all, he knew her better than that – she didn't have one patient bone in her.

Like she was reading his mind, she continued her verbal assault, "Why didn't you tell me all of this before leaving in the middle of the night without a word – without some kind of a plan to meet up later? And you left your cross behind. You'd never done that before. You'd always taken it everywhere with you 'to feel close to me', because I gave it to you. You giving it back seemed like you didn't want it anymore – like you didn't want _me_ anymore. Do you have any idea how much that hurt?" she told him shakily, the words nearly strangling her as she said them. She wasn't used to being this open and transparent with him, and she was having a hard time keeping all of her bottled emotions in check.

Dom looked down on the ground and took a deep breath to swallow the lump in his throat.

He had trouble looking at her and seeing all the hurt he had caused her. He'd never wanted to hurt her; he'd just wanted to keep her safe. But as the saying goes: _the road to hell is paved with good intentions_. He had had the best of intentions at heart, but it had led them both straight to hell.

It had always been hard for him to admit and say out loud, how badly he may have screwed up, but he wasn't about to let his pride get in the way of fixing things with her this time. So he took another deep breathe and slowly made his way up to her. She was standing in the middle of the room, with her fists clenched, trying to regain her composure. He carefully approached her and then gently put his fingers under her chin and tipped her face up, leaving his thumb to gently stroke her cheek.

When her glistening eyes finally met his dark ones, he told her softly in his deep gravelly voice, "I'm sorry Letty. I shouldn't have left you the way I did. I shouldn't have broken the promises I made to you. I knew when I left that being separated would hurt you, but I didn't care. I was selfish. I only thought of the pain it would cause _me_ if anything happened to you. I'm sorry that I shut you out of that decision and that I handled it in the absolute worse way possible. I'm so sorry that your rock failed you, Let." His voice was filled with sincerity and remorse. "And I left you my cross not because I didn't want it – _or you_ – but because I wanted you to have a piece of me with you," he explained. He sounded miserable and desperate.

He paused, not knowing what more to say to her. He knew he was the one that had to make things right – that he was mostly at fault here. From her point of view, he had abandoned her in the DR _and_ on that road after being chased by Fenix. He hadn't made sure that it was really her that they'd buried. And for the last 18 months, she had been living with the thought that he knew all along she was alive, but didn't care.

He suddenly had an idea. Without removing his right hand from her cheek, he used his left hand to pull at the collar of his white shirt and untuck his necklace with the cross shining at the end of it.

Letty's eyes bugged out at the sight of it. She hadn't really noticed before if he had been wearing it, but she was definitely seeing it now. She couldn't stop her hand from reaching out to it and taking the cross in the palm of her hand, her other hand resting lightly on Dom's chest.

"You've kept it?" she asked him in awe, her face never leaving the piece of jewelry that had meant so much to the both of them through out their entire relationship.

"Of course I've kept it. I've barely taken it off ever since I found it in Dad's Charger," he told her, hurt that she had thought otherwise.

Her eyes were bright and shining as she lifted her head to look at him.

And just like that, she was kissing him.

* * *

_Thank you so much to my beta Sunshine and Chocolate! _

_Let me know what you guys think!_


	18. Chapter 14 - Part 2

_Hmm, wondering if I'm doing this wrong or if my story is really interesting... My last chapter barely got any reviews, so I'm starting to wonder if I'm just wasting my time here..._

* * *

CHAPTER FOURTEEN – PART 2

What started out as a simple kiss quickly turned into something raw and desperate when Dom forced his tongue in Letty's mouth. He had one of his hands gripping her hair tightly and pulling, while the other was around her waist, holding her to him. Letty had pressed her fingers into his skull, wanting to keep him right there, kissing him just the way he was.

"No, no, no! We can't do this," she abruptly tore her mouth away from his eager one and took a step back away from him. "Don't you have a _girlfriend_ waiting for you at home?"

Dom let out an exasperated and annoyed grunt. "Really, Letty?" he replied evenly, crossing his arms over his chest. She could tell she'd made him angry, but she didn't know why. "You really think that's what I'd do? I'd come here chasing after you, telling you that I wasn't letting you go, _kissing you_, while keeping Elena in the wings? Nice to know your opinion of me," he muttered offended by her comment.

"Well, what am I supposed to think, huh? For the last 18 months, I've been told – been shown pictures – of you with other women. How do I know you're not playing me?" she told him petulantly. She knew as soon as the words were out of her mouth that she didn't believe them. Even though she had spent a lot of days and nights doubting what they had shared – had doubted him – she didn't believe anymore that he would purposely do anything to hurt her or treat her carelessly. Still, she couldn't let him know that he was breaking through all her defenses. So she continued before he could argue with her, "Besides, you're probably better off with her than with me. What do we even know about being in a grown-up relationship? We'll never be one of those couple who makes it. Like Mia and Brian. Or what you have with that cop. You and I together, we don't do stable. Never have, never will," she said, her voice breaking. She bit her lip against the sadness. Her brain was telling her that it was for the best if they stayed apart, that they eventually just ended up hurting each other all over again. But her heart didn't want to hear it. Her heart only knew what it felt. Her heart only knew that it felt right when he was with her.

Dom was speechless. He had thought that things where finally progressing and getting better, but it seems that she was pulling away from him again. He saw her scowl, but since he knew her so well, he understood that the way she was biting her lip just meant she was apprehensive about what she was going to say next.

"We've both moved on with our lives. We've learned to live without the other. I think we should just take this as us saying goodbye and be done with it – go our separate ways. I don't want to be your responsibility anymore. I don't want you to feel like you have to protect me or save me. I've been doing just fine on my own – we both have. We don't need each other," she said with finality.

His jaw tensed and he suddenly looked enraged. He marched right up to her and grabbed her tightly by her upper arms. "I've already told you, I'm not letting you go, so stop arguing with me," he told her through gritted teeth. "And just for the record, no Elena is not waiting for me. She was a great source of comfort after I lost you, but she was never anything more to me and I don't plan on ever seeing her again now that I found you. And there hasn't been _anyone_ besides her since you and I first got together. _No one_. And another thing; going through the motions isn't moving on – it isn't even living. And _I_ need you. And I know that you need me too even if you're too stubborn to admit it. So stop being a bitch about it and just give in already," he told her firmly, having lost all patience with her.

They both felt quiet after that; each trying to figure out who would give in first. They were staring at each other and the heat between them started to rise until it became unbearable.

She felt his hands gently slide down her arms and his hands take hold of her wrists. She had to close her eyes to try and regain her equilibrium, but when she opened them her breath was more ragged than she'd liked to admit.

Though she wasn't sure if he realized he was doing it, Dom's thumbs had started tracing little circles on the skin under the sleeves of her jacket. His eyes were clouded and they were both just standing there for a moment, her mind a mess of fear and desire, his hunger clear as he was watching her, breathing hard.

Letty had no idea how much time had passed, but when she felt a pull on her wrist, she honestly couldn't tell if she was trying to pull away, if he was pulling her towards him, or if she was given in and tugging him towards her.

Taking the first step, Dom let go of her wrists, gathered her in his arms and kissed her slowly, with all the passion he could muster. She let her lips toy with his soft and warm ones, brushing them gently until he pressed down harder to capture them firmly. Her lips parted and his tongue eagerly sought hers. He heard her release a tiny moan and instantly, electricity coursed through his veins.

She grabbed his arms holding on to him as the kiss intensified and his hold on her tightened.

"Missed you," he whispered in her ear, his deep voice sending chills down her spine, as he nipped at her ear and pressed wet kisses to her neck. He pushed aside her jacket from her shoulders and trailed kisses along the line of the warm skin he was uncovering.

Wanting to have more of her, Dom pulled roughly on her jacket to take it off. When a few sharped jerks failed to free her hands, he just grabbed the bundled jacket and held her wrists behind her back as his other hand snaked a path down her ribs, spreading his palm across her belly.

Letty moaned as his heated fingers slid from her stomach to her breasts over her tank top, caressing her lightly and tentatively. Letty arched into his hand, demanding more. She pressed herself into him and rotated her hips as she ground against his growing erection.

"Oh God," Dom let out as he closed his eyes, his hand tightened convulsively over her breast at the contact. She moaned in response and bit his neck, catching the soft skin between her teeth and sucking it into her mouth.

Growing impatient with not being able to touch him, Letty tugged one of her hands loose, then the other, and tossed her jacket aside. Her hands now free to roam ran over his chest and biceps before reaching for the bottom on his shirt and shoving it off his shoulders, tossing it distractedly to the side.

While she was touching him, Dom was pressing his tongue to the base of her throat. He then travelled down slowly to the curve that dipped down into the valley of her breasts, his tongue darted out. He then attached his mouth to her nipple and started sucking on it through the thin fabric of her tank top, his hand massaging the other.

They stood like that for some time, just kissing, groping, and reacquainting themselves with each other's body, until Dom pulled away enough to take a look around at their surroundings.

"Damnit Letty, couldn't you have picked a better place to meet? Somewhere with a bed. Or at least some clean floors," he complained, pouting like a five year old.

Letty burst out laughing – a real genuine throaty laugh that made Dom's heart swell. "You getting old on me, Papa? Used to be, you could take me anytime, anyplace. Next thing you know, you'll be needing those little blue pills and only be doing missionary," she teased him with mischief in her eyes.

Dom thought his heart would burst at hearing her call him 'Papa'. It was a silly term of endearment, but it meant so much to him to hear her say it again after all this time.

In a mock serious, threatening voice, he answered her, "I'll show you what this old guy can still do, woman." He picked her up, threw her over his shoulder and slapped her ass as he carried her over to the corner of the room, laughing.

Letty couldn't stop laughing too. She had forgotten how much fun she used to have with Dom when it was just the two of them.

Dom set her down on the floor and started laying out tarps on the ground. "Well look at you my little boy scout," Letty told him playfully. Dom looked at her over his shoulder with an eyebrow raised, "Little?"

"Well, it's been a while. And lots can change in two years." Her voice had started out jokingly but had took a serious turn remembering that it had been two years since the last time they had been together like this.

"Hey, come here," he told her lowly, his eyes locked on hers. He opened his arms for her and brought her against his chest. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, feeling his pulse racing against her lips as she inhaled the musky scent of his skin.

Her arms locked around his neck, and all she could do is hold on to him and pulled him tighter to her.

"Never again Letty. I promise you. I'll never leave you alone again. Trust me," he chuckled, "I've learned my lesson," he told her softly.

She reached up to pull his lips to hers and kissed him deeply. Their hands started to explore again, assaulting every last one of their senses, making them moan in pleasure. Their touch became more and more desperate, and frenzied.

Without wasting anymore time, Dom roughly took off Letty's tank top and undid her bra in no time. She moaned again and roughly grabbed the back of his head as his lips latched around her hardened nipple. As he sucked, licked, and nipped, she arched her back to him silently offering more, which he greedily accepted.

It was then his turn to let out a load deep moan when he felt Letty's hand moved up and down his crotch, massaging his hard-on, while she pressed hot kisses to his neck and throat.

She next reached for the button of his pants and slowly started undoing them while she kept rubbing him.

Not satisfied with the slow pace she was setting, Dom took over. He hurriedly kicking off his boots and then tore off his pants, boxers and socks, while Letty took care of her own clothes.

Once they were both naked, Dom backed her up and then bent his knees to take her down with him on the makeshift bed he had made for them.

"I've missed you," he murmured softly against her hot skin for the second time that night. In response, she wrapped both her arms around him and lowered him onto her. He kissed her lips and whispered in concerned, "You okay? You're awfully quiet."

She smiled and nodded at him, not trusting her voice to let out the feelings she wasn't ready to admit out loud, yet. She lifted her head and caught his lips in a heated kiss, feeling his lower half pressed against her, his erection grinding against her opening.

Dom took the time to explore every new scar that adorned her body, to taste every patch of her flesh, and to reacquaint him-self with the scent of her skin. To him, she was perfect, sensuous, playful, loving, and sexy. She could drive him wild with a look, have him raging mad in a minute and have him panting like a dog the next. But he could also make her moan softly, make her do that little purring thing in the back of her throat or make her scream his name with just a simple touch.

He took his kisses to her neck and then moved to her breasts, while his hands moved from the inside of her knees to her thighs. He stimulated the outer before heading inside where his thumb found her clit and pressed against it. Letty gripped his back and moaned at the sensation his hand was sending through her whole body. "Oh yes," she breathed out.

She whimpered when two fingers slid into her wetness and started a slow rhythm of in and out. She was tight even around his fingers, and he felt himself harden even further. He kept his hand movement steady and she started to move her body into his hand more. He could feel her opening up, wanting more, and he slid those fingers deeper before extracting them and pushing them back in again.

Dom stared down at her determinedly as he slowly drove her mad.

When he saw that she was on the brink of orgasm, he withdrew his fingers completely and brought his lips to hers in a crushing passionate kiss, while he position himself at her wet opening. It had been way too long for them, and he was ready to make up lost time.

Taking hold of his cock, Letty guided him to her, and he pushed inside little by little. She wrapped her limbs around him, clinging to his back, and he got lost in her warm surroundings.

His hands held her thighs against him, pressing up as he started thrusting into her. His gaze never left hers, and Letty was lost in him. "My Dom," she whispered panting. At her words, Dom let out a low growl of pure bliss and began moving faster and harder.

When Dom let go of her legs to place his hands on either side of her, Letty pressed her heels to the floor and rose to meet his thrusts as she wrapped her hands around his rigid arms for added leverage. In this position, Dom was able to deliver powerful thrusts that produced cries of bliss beneath him.

As he rode her harder, her eyes fluttering closed as she savored the sensation of him moving inside of her.

"Open," he commanded panting.

Letty's eyes sprung open at his demand and the look of raw desire etched on his features took her breath away. His speed increased, then decreased as he toyed with her and her body rocked in sync with his. His lips went around her nipple and he hungrily sucked on it.

Letty bit her lips, moaned, and even screamed when the sensation proved to be too much.

As she felt herself growing closer to her peak, she moved her hand down and started slowly rubbing their connection. At the feeling of her fingers brushing against his cock, his gaze wavered as he struggled to hold his release at bay.

Clenching his jaw, he plunged into her recklessly, his gaze burning into her, determined to pleasure her first. Letty groaned loudly and raked her nails over his back, her fingers clenching his bicep in a vise like grip as her eyes opened wider and he saw a look of pure feminine pleasure warm them.

She pressed her legs into him again, holding him deep inside of her as she began to clutch and squeeze his cock within her walls. "That's it," he whispered raggedly as he lost his control and rode out the rolling waves of heat just after her, filling her with his desire as he flooded her. Dom grunted into her neck as he dropped his weight on her. Unable to stop himself, he kept thrusting into her still as he hung his head, gasping for breath. He continued for a while to push into her gently, until they both came down. Letty's hands ran over his arms and back mindlessly caressing him, as the tremors left his body.

Finally he collapsed besides her, gathering her in his arms as his shaking muscles began to relax.

"That was…" she paused with a sigh.

"Amazing, incredibly hot, earth shattering?" he asked, nodding the whole time.

"Oh, well, I was going to say nice, pleasant," she teased.

"Ha, ha, ha, very funny Let," Dom responded quietly, basking in the afterglow of their passionate love making.

Silence fell upon them as they laid together, their limbs comfortably tangled, both lost in their own thoughts. "What are you thinking about," Dom murmured softly, running his fingers through her hair.

"If only we could stay like this forever," she murmured back, her head resting on his chest, her eyes closing as she felt sleep claiming her.

"Let? We still have to talk. I want to know more about your accident and joining Shaw's crew. And I'm still pissed at you, by the way, for that little stunt you pulled on me today," he told her sternly, remembering the events with the tank that now seemed like a life time ago.

Letty chuckled softly, "Didn't like that, did you? You're gonna yelled at me?"

"Nah, too relaxed. Maybe later. I'll let you know," his sleepy voice told her.

"A'right," she barely got out as she snuggled even deeper into his embrace.

"We can talk more later. But there's just one think I gotta know now, Let," his voice regaining some strength. "How do you do it? All of those lives you're taking… I just don't understand. You used to get so bent out of shape when you saw me and the guys going out with our guns. And now…" he trailed off.

"I know. Lately, its seems like I can't close my eyes without being haunted by all the lives we've taken," Letty told him, her voice filled with remorse and sadness.

"So why do you do it? Why do you keep doing it?" he pressed.

"_I'm_ not doing it, I'm trying to stop _them_ from doing it," she defended, he voice slightly rising.

Dom frowned not understanding what she meant by that. He lifted his head so that he could look in her eyes and show her that he wanted her to go on.

"Owen, he doesn't care whether people die or not because of us, he just wants to get the job done. God, you should hear some of the stuff he comes up with sometimes just to get what he wants. _I'm_ the one who's been giving him alternatives, talking him into taking the shipments in the military convoy on the road, in the middle of nowhere where there are fewer people. I've been busting my ass trying to do damage control. It works most of the time when I can come up with a better plan, but sometimes…" she shook her head in anguish, remembering what had happened on Lambeth Bridge in London.

He looked at her appraisingly for a moment, his head held like he was expecting her to say something more. His eyes darkened in concern and in pride for her. After all the bad things that had happened to her in the last two years – _in all her life_ – she was still trying to do some good around her.

He gathered her closer in his arms, trying to bring her some comfort. "I'm going to get you out of there Let. I promise," he said quietly before letting sleep take over the both of them.

* * *

Dom woke up alone in the wee hours of the morning. He had hoped that she would have still been sleeping besides him when he woke up, but truthfully, he knew she would be gone.

Yet, he still felt disappointed not seeing her there.

He smiled as he picked up his clothes and got dressed, remembering how he had woken up sometime during the night, spooning behind her, and had insistently dragged her closer to him. She had turned to him blissfully and their lovemaking that time had been much softer and gentler, going on for hours.

As he walked outside to his car, he couldn't help but raise his eyes to the sky and send a silent prayer, thanking God for a second chance, for having her back in his life.

When he finally reached his car, he spotted a little white piece of paper stuck to his windshield wiper. He instantly felt the color drained from his face and his heart started racing. All the muscles in his body tensed and he clenched his hands into fists at the thought of someone surprising them during the night and taking Letty away.

With shaking hands, he grabbed the piece of paper that was folded in two. As he slowly opened it, he immediately recognized the sloppy handwriting and his whole body relaxed in an instant. He let out the breath he had been holding and read the one line that had been left on paper: _'I've missed you too!'_

Well, it wasn't an actual _'I love you'_ but coming from Letty, that was close enough. He couldn't help himself but laugh out loud; he just had a feeling that today was going to be a great day!


	19. Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Dom felt like he was walking on cloud nine when he met up with his team later that day. After getting a few more hours of sleep and a hot shower in his hotel room in London, he felt like he was on top of the world. For the last few days, he had been worried that things between him and Letty would never be the same, but now, he knew everything would be all right. All he had to do was take care of the little Owen Shaw problem, and then he could be with her. Piece of cake.

Han had managed to found them a new location for their operation – one that was near the meeting location in London – and some new cars. Strangely enough, the building they were in looked a lot like their old hideout, like it had been build by the same construction company, with the same architect, and left half finished just like its predecessor. Looking around, Dom wondered how Han had known about these places and what was the story behind them, but then realized that he really didn't give a damn. He was in way too much of a good mood to care about details for once.

As he was reaching the table where everyone was gathered around, waiting for him, he stopped death in his track when he saw all of them looking at him with big shit eating grins on their faces.

"What?" Dom asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Were you whistling?" Brian asked grinning.

"What? No!" Dom stated in an indignant tone.

"You know, for a big guy, you don't look so tough when you're acting all lovey-dovey. So, where is she? I want to meet this girl that as big bad Dominic Toretto acting like a love sick puppy dog," Roman teased him, looking behind Dom's back trying to see if Letty was following him.

Dom folded his arms across his chest and sent Rome a look that told him he wasn't amused. "She had some shit to take care of," he answered dryly, all trace of happiness gone. "And so do we. Where are we with Shaw," he asked looking at everyone around the table.

"Well, Hobbs and a few of his guys are investigating Terry's warehouse today. Then, there's tomorrow's meeting place in the harbor that we can take a look at. Did, huh… Did Letty tell you anything to help us out?" Brian asked hesitantly. Judging by the mood his brother-in-law had been in when he walked in, the meeting between him and Letty couldn't have gone all bad, but the fact that she wasn't here with him and that Dom had tensed had the mention of her name, told him that not everything was settle.

"We, hm, had other things to talk about," Dom carefully responded, not wanting to let out too much, but unable to hide the small smile that was creeping back on his face.

"You go, bruh! So did you smack it or grab it?" Roman couldn't help but take a dig at the man.

Dom's jaw tightened and his eyelids squeezed shut, trying to regain control.

"Rome, give the guy a brake before you make him explode. Why don't we take a look at what we can do until we hear from Hobbs, a'right?" Han stepped in and asked in an even tone, trying to diffuse the situation.

Grateful for the change of subject, Dom nodded his thanks to Han and then brought everyone's attention to the maps on the table, trying to concentrate on the job he had to do to get his girl back.

* * *

Something was going on. Something that she had been purposely left out of. There were all staying clear away from her, talking in hushed tones and sending her nervous looks. But most above all, she hadn't seen a trace of Owen all morning.

Letty had come back to her team after her night with Dom just before sun rise and no one had mention anything about it to her.

_Dom_.

Just the thought of their night together sent a bolt of warmth and pleasure through her entire body. Never in a million years would she have ever imagined being back in his arms again. But here they were.

She was starting to regret her decision to come back and not stay with him. He had told her in the middle of the night that if she helped them catch Owen, they would all get their freedom back. They would all be free to go home. And she wanted that for them; to have a clean slate and start over. So she had decided to come back and keep tabs on her team in order to help Dom catch them.

And if she was being completely honest with herself, she knew that she had needed some more time alone, to think things through, for she still had some lingering feeling to deal with. She knew she loved him, but their foundation had been shaken when he had left her in the DR and then everything had completely crumbled when Owen came along and played on her insecurities. Because she could see it now; Owen had been manipulating her, feeding her lies, making her feel irrelevant, alone, unloved.

After her talk with Dom, a lot of her fears had been put to rest, but she still wasn't entirely convinced that she could trust him not to leave again or to put their lives in danger. Her head was telling her to be cautious, while her heart told her that she could lean on him and trust him.

She still didn't know if she should be happy or frustrated with her treacherous body for responding to him like she had last night. But who was she kidding; they had always had that effect on each other's hormones. Ever since they were teenagers, they had never been able to keep their hands off each other. Letty couldn't help the small smile that crept up on her face at the thought of some of their most passionate and wild exchanges.

Her smile quickly faded when Vegh passed by without acknowledging her.

They were planning something without her. She could just feel it. And she could guess it had something to do with Dom and his team. And probably even her. Maybe they knew about her meetings with Dom. What was she thinking; of course Owen knew what she had been up to. He always knew everything about everything and everyone. He had eyes everywhere. The question remained: what was he going to do about it?

As far as she new, their plans hadn't change. After cleaning up the power station yesterday, they had hurried up and emptied out the warehouse that Terry had used, because Owen had just heard that Hobbs and some of his men were going there today. She first had been assign the task to go back there this morning and make sure every trace was gone, but last night, Owen had told her that someone else would go, that instead he wanted her to take one last look at the shipment before the sale – he wanted her to stay close to their hideout and not go anywhere. Then tomorrow, they would be packing up and putting everything in two boats: one with all the military equipment for the sale and one for them to make their escape.

The best time for Dom and his team to close in on them would be during the sale.

They hadn't taken the time last night to talk about a course of action. She would have to find a way to contact him and let him know about the boats in London's harbor. But she had a gnawing feeling growing in the pit of her stomach that it wouldn't be easy to get away again. She knew that they were all keeping their eyes on her and that they wouldn't let her leave without a good reason.

She could just tell that things were about to take a turn for the worst; she just didn't know for whom.

* * *

While Dom's team was figuring out what they could do next, Hobbs was gearing up with Riley and some of his best men to go investigate the building that Terry had bought. According to the locals, there had been a lot of activities surrounding the building in the last 24 hours and Hobbs was afraid that they were already too late.

When they arrived on location, they saw a black Suzuki Jimny parked in front of the old run down building. Hobbs couldn't help the smile that crept on his face at the thought of finally having one-up Shaw.

Stopping their cars further down the road, the seven men and Riley got out and made there way towards the warehouse. Without making a sound, Hobbs motion for his men to go on either side of the building to surround it and make sure that who ever was in there couldn't escape.

When Hobbs received confirmation that his men were in position, he and Riley pulled out their gun and quietly made their way inside the building through the main door. They heard some noises coming from inside letting them know that the place wasn't deserted. As they slowly made their way deeper into the building they saw that the first floor was basically a big opened space, with no division walls. The place was completely empty except for one specific item: Tej's green and yellow 1959 Lister Roadster. The sight of the car was enough confirmation for Hobbs that Shaw and his team had been here.

After making sure that no one was lurking in any corner, Hobbs and Riley made their way towards the metallic stairway that was bolted to the wall at the far end of the room. He was about to put his foot on the first step when gunshots were fired in their direction from the second floor. Hobbs and Riley wasted no time ducking and firing back, while climbing the stairs two at a time. As they reached the landing, they saw two men run into the farthest room from them and then everything went into death calm.

With their guns drawn, Hobbs and Riley quietly made their way towards the room in the back. But before they had time to reach it, they heard the sound of glass breaking.

"We have visual on two men that have just exited the building through a second floor window on the north side of the building, sir. The suspects are running and jumping from roof to roof heading out east, sir," they immediately heard through their earpiece.

'_Fuck, not this again!'_ Hobbs thought to himself as he was brought back to a time of chasing Dom's team in Rio.

"I want two men to come inside and finish securing the second floor of this building. The rest of you, you'll be out of an uniform if you lose those two men," Hobbs harshly commanded while coming in the back room and going through the window after them, Riley hot on his tail.

The two men had already put a lot of distance between them when Hobbs and Riley came out, but that didn't stop them from going after them at full speed. They jump from rooftop to rooftop chasing after them, trying to catch up. There was absolutely no way that Hobbs was letting them get away.

Run. Jump. Land. Repeat. It went on for almost a mile when all of a sudden, the two men stopped death in their tracks; they had run out of rooftop.

What happened next unfolded so fast that Hobbs barely had time to register any of it. He saw the two armed men face each other to talk and the next thing he knew, they were both lying on the ground. Dead. Shot by Riley.

* * *

The night had started to fall on London when the team made its way back to their hideout. They had spent the day split up two by two, circling the harbor and the surrounding areas by car and on foot, in hopes of locating members of Shaw's crew. But they had all come up empty.

They had briefly heard from Hobbs, but only learned that things hadn't gone well for them either. The only good news it seems was the fact that they had found Tej beloved car.

As everyone made their way towards their hotel room to catch up on some sleep, a restless Dom decided to go take one last look around the harbor in hope of catching a glance of Letty. Brian insisted on tagging along, not wanting to let his friend alone in case things went wrong.

They had already spent the day together searching the street of London while Dom had opened up to Brian about his night with Letty. They had both talked quietly about the pass, the present and the future they wanted with their girls. For the first time in years, they were both hopeful and excited about what the future held for them.

As they were making their way on foot to the harbor through a two-level parking lot, they suddenly heard in the distance the sound of sirens coming towards them. Not wanting to draw attention on themselves, they decided to not take any chance and hide behind a couple of parked cars. Before they knew it, the higher ground of the parking lot was filled by police cars with their lights flashing and trucks from the Police Firearms Unit. Within seconds, the whole place was crawling with armed agent.

"Dominic Toretto. Brian O'Conner. We have the place surrounded. Come out with your hands up," a police officer said from the speaker of his car. "In compliance to the US – UK Extradition Treaty, you are here by under arrest."

Dom and Brian looked at each other with wide-eyed, not understanding what was going on. How did they know they were here? After everything, had Hobbs turned on them? Before they had time to think of anything, they heard a sound that they both recognize and fear; the sound of a modified car engine. And it was coming right at them.

They barely had time to see a flash of grey passed by them before it was gone and explosions were heard all around them. In no time, the top floor of the parking lot had collapse, burying with it half of the men that were on it.

"Shit! They're gonna think we did this. We gotta get out of here," an alarmed Brian stated.

With all the confusion, fires and smoke around them, they decided to just make a run for it. They hadn't made it a couple feet when all of a sudden, a bright harsh light coming from above, surrounded them. They didn't need to lift their heads to the sky to know that a helicopter had spotted them.

When they looked around them and spotted all the guns pointed at them, they realize that they had nowhere to run. They were caught. They had no choice but to raise their arms above their head and surrender.

* * *

_Thank you to all of you who took the time to leave a review. I really appreciated it. _


	20. Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

He didn't have time for this. In less than 24 hours, Owen Shaw would most likely be out of the country and he would have to start his manhunt all over again. But instead of working on tracking him down, he was stuck babysitting a couple of dumb teenagers.

Luke already had the UK authorities on his back because of the fiasco with the tank and then with the shooting today, now this.

"I'm Special Agent Luke Hobbs from the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service. I'm here to see the Interpol agent who arrested American fugitives Dominic Toretto and Brian O'Conner," Luke informed the brunet woman with glasses sitting behind the desk of the police station where Toretto and O'Conner had been taken into custody.

"Please have a seat Agent Hobbs. Agent Johnson will be right with you," she informed him with a soft smile and flushed cheeks.

"Thank you. Has anyone ever told you that you have a beautiful smile," Luke smiled back at her while leaning on the counter.

A soft giggle escaped her lips and her cheeks flushed even more. "Thank you," the woman answered.

Luke was about to ask for her name when a side door opened and a tall, slightly overweight man wearing an expansive suit came out to great him.

"Agent Hobbs, I'm Agent William Johnson from Interpol," he said extending his hand to shake his.

"The two fugitives we have taken into custody have been asking for you," he informed him while he guided him through the station. Hobbs threw one last look over his shoulder at the pretty brunet and she was looking after them with as much disappointment on her face as he felt.

Another time, Luke thought.

"Now, I know that you're probably here so we can release them into your care to take them back to the US, but because of tonight's events, the UK government is going to want to keep them detained here and will want to press charges for the attack," the man informed him.

"Attack? What attack?" Luke asked furrowing his brow in confusion.

Agent Johnson stopped walking in the middle of a cold, cement hallway and turned to face him.

"Mr. Toretto and Mr. O'Conner are suspected of being responsible for the attack that injured more than 50 policemen and killed 5 of them so far," Agent Johnson told Luke with tight lips.

"WHAT?" Luke replied now fuming. He couldn't believe that Toretto and O'Conner could be responsible for this kind of tragedy. Something like that looked more like the work of Shaw, not Toretto.

Agent Johnson started walking again and motioned for Luke to follow him. "We have already questioned Mr. O'Conner, but he was uncooperative. I was just about to go see Mr. Toretto before you got here. Would you like to join me?" Although it was a question, he didn't wait for an answer before opening a door leading to a room where Dom was handcuffed to a table.

At first glance, Luke knew that Dom was more than pissed. His shoulders were rigid, his posture perfect, and he wasn't blinking.

He looked like he was ready to murder someone.

"Toretto, you mind telling me what is going here?" Luke demanded.

"Like you don't know. I thought we had a deal Hobbs," Dom told him in a deathly calm tone.

"We do. But that deal doesn't give you the right to attack police officers," Luke bit back angrily.

Dom's head snapped towards him at that and he furrowed his eyebrows together.

"What do you mean 'attack police officers'? You know us better than that," replied an annoyed Dom.

"What exactly happened tonight?" Luke finally asked looking between Dom and Agent Johnson.

"Look, all I know is that Brian and I were walking towards the harbor to give the place another look when all of a sudden, all these men came at us with guns, saying that we were under arrest because of the extradition treaty. We ducked behind a car trying to figure out what was going on, but before we had time to do anything, Shaw or someone from his crew drove by with their stolen military vehicle and made that whole parking lot collapse," Dom explained through clench teeth.

"Shaw was there? Fuck. If he knew you were there, he probably knows that we know about the meeting place," Luke gathered, slamming the file he had been carrying on the table in frustration.

"What I want to know is how did _they_ know we were gonna be there," Dom replied tightly motioning with his head towards the Interpol agent.

Luke turned around from looking at Dom and instead focused his attention on Agent Johnson. He crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow at the man, waiting for him to explain.

"I am not at liberty to divulge the details with you at this point in time, but I can tell you that the instruction for the arrest came directly from one of our top Deputy Commissioners. Orders were given to arrest Dominic Toretto and Brian O'Conner, and to keep them in our custody until further notice," Agent Johnson informed them.

Hobbs whistled and nodded.

"Damn, he's good. Agent Johnson, I have with me official papers signed by the US government stipulating that Toretto and O'Conner are not to be arrested. They are working with me in order to capture Owen Shaw, and in doing so, they will receive a pardon for their crimes," Luke explained while handing the agent the file with the signed documents and a profile on Owen Shaw.

"And you say that this… Owen Shaw is responsible for tonight's attack?" Agent Johnson asked Dom while looking through the file Luke had given him.

"Yes, him or someone from his crew was there with the modified vehicle they stole from the military. I'm sure some agents that were there tonight saw it come and go through the parking lot. The driver of that car is the one responsible for blowing everything up," Dom answered firmly.

"We're closing in on them and I suspect they used you as a way to deter us from our investigation. I need for you to release Toretto and O'Conner as soon as possible so that we can get back on track and catch them before they leave the country," an impatient Hobbs commanded.

"I need to make a couple of phone calls to verify this. You can wait here. I'll be right back," Agent Johnson said going to the door.

Before he left, Dom loudly cleared his throat to catch the man's attention.

When he turned around, Dom raised his hand from the table, showing him that he was still handcuffed to the table. Agent Johnson nodded his head and wasted no time in freeing him before he left the room, leaving Dom and Luke alone.

"Damn, I can't believe he got us. I mean, to know where we were at exactly the right time means that he was actually following us and that he had the police force ready to go at a moment's notice to catch us," Dom said shaking his head in disbelief while rubbing his wrists.

"That asshole is always just one step ahead of us. He always seems to know our next move, like he has inside information about us," Luke told Dom with a meaningful look.

"What are you getting at Hobbs? Are you trying so say that someone on my crew is a double agent?" Dom asked, his breathing coming out in low bursts as the anger coursed through his veins.

"No, not really. More like…" Luke hesitated, "an ex-girlfriend."

The words had barely left his mouth when he heard Dom's angry growl. In no time he had jumped over the table and launched himself at Luke's throat. Luke had seen him coming and was ready for him. He was able to grab him by the arm and swing him over his shoulder, sending him to the floor. Before they had time to battle it out more, four armed men came rushing through the door and pointed their guns at Dom.

Although it was obvious by the look he was sending Luke that he wanted to kill him, Dom slowly got up, picked up his chair that had fallen to the ground and sat back down with his arms folded.

"Look Dom, I know she means a lot to you, but you've got to face the facts here. She's with Shaw now – has been for over a year now. And with that stunt she pulled with the tank… Who knows what she's capable of doing for him," Luke explained to him calmly.

"I don't care what you think of her. I trust Letty. She wouldn't betray us. Besides, I haven't told her anything about what we know," Dom responded in a resentful tone, his eyes fixed on the DSS agent.

Luke didn't have time to respond to Dom, since Agent Johnson had walked back in. "Well, it appears that your story checks out. And, it was confirmed that what was describe as a modified grey racecar was spotted in the parking lot during the attack. Furthermore, it would appear that the Deputy Commissioner responsible for your arrest has been taken into custody this evening on several charges for conspiracy. The paperwork has already been started for yours and Mr. O'Conner's release. We are extremely sorry for this misfortune. I've been asked to let you know that the police forces are at your service and they would like to assist you in the capture of the man responsible for this attack," Agent Johnson explained to them.

"Thank you, I might take you up on that. We think they have something big planned for tomorrow- well tonight actually – and we could use all the help we can get to catch him and his crew. Let me get back to my base and I'll give you a call," and with that, Luke left the room without one look towards Dom.

He didn't want to deal with Dom anymore, especially after he had just saved his ass. He could have let them both rot in jail and taken them back to the US, but he still felt like they were his last hope to catch Shaw. He just hoped Dom was right about Letty or he couldn't even think of what would happen if she chose Shaw's team over his.

* * *

After spending all night at the police station, Dom and Brian walked in their hideout early the next morning completely exhausted. Brian was sporting a small cut beside his right eye after getting into a fight with another inmate.

The whole team was there to greet them as they walked in.

"Well, well, well, look at what the cat dragged in! You guys can't keep yourself out of trouble now can you?" Giselle asked them laughing at the state they were in.

They answered her with a grunt, both too tired to really acknowledge her. They had only stopped by to let them know what was going on before heading to their hotel to catch up on some sleep before the night's event.

Brian was about to tell them what had happened, when he saw Roman staying near the wall in the back, shifting anxiously, and paying _way_ to much attention to his nails.

Brian narrowed his eyes and looked at his fidgeting old friend.

"Rome, what'd you do?" Brian asked him, crossing his arms over his chest and cocking his head to the side.

"Nah ha, this isn't my fault. This is your two knuckleheads' fault for getting your asses thrown in jail. Not my fault," Roman argued, still fidgeting on his feet.

"Rome," Brian said sternly, looking at him expectantly.

"Mia's on her way over," Han chipped in.

"WHAT?" Brian and Dom yelled at the same time.

"Well, when you guys didn't pick up your cell phones last night, she called me to know what was going on. And you guys know I can't lie to her – she scares me. She looks all sweet and stuff, but I know she ain't no Stepford wife. She is 100% Toretto and that scares the crap out of me – and she knows it too. Why do you think she called me and not the others? Because she knew I would tell her the truth. And when I told her what was going on, well she got mad at me…" Roman kept ranting while Dom and Brian turned on their cellphones for the first time and noticed all the missed voicemails and texts from Mia.

"Shit!" Brian let out while pressing his speed dial to Mia's cell. The call went straight to voicemail. He hung up and pressed the number for their home phone.

"Hello?" a feminine voice answered.

"Who's this?" Brian responded sharply.

"Brian, is that you? It's Rosa. Are you guys ok? We've been worried sick ," Rosa told him in a slightly panicked voice.

"We're fine Rosa. What are you doing at the house? Where's Mia?" he asked but already knowing the answer.

"Mia asked me to stay with her when you guys left. So Nico and I have been keeping her company. And she wanted me to be here to take care of Gabriel if she had to leave to clean up after her idiot husband and jackass brother," Rosa told him chuckling. Brian was sure that Rosa was repeating word for word what Mia had told her. "She should be on a plane right now heading your way," she finished.

"Damn!" Brian murmured. "Thank you Rosa. How's my little man doing?" Brian softly added thinking of his son.

"He's good. No trouble at all," she answered softly.

"Good. Give him a kiss for me. And if you hear from Mia, tell her to call my cell right away, ok?" Brian instructed her.

"Sure thing Brian. You guys be careful now. Bye," she told him before hanging up.

While Brian was on the phone with Rosa, Dom crashed in a chair. He sat tiredly and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, head in his hands. He couldn't get out of his head what Hobbs had told him about Letty. No, he would never believe that she could betray him.

He then raised his head and looked around the room at the people he considered family. He couldn't imagine any of them double-crossing him either. It had to be someone else but who?

* * *

Mia couldn't believe she had been so careless. This really hadn't been the time to forget charging her cell phone. She had been fidgeting with it during the entire flight, just waiting for it to ring with news from her husband and brother, only to have it die in her hands half way there.

She was desperately looking for a payphone to call the team and see if they had received any news and to have someone pick her up from the airport.

She had finally caught sight of a row of payphones when she felt someone grab her by the elbow. Before she had time to react, she felt a pinch at the back of her neck. Her hand flew up to soothe the pain instinctively.

Mia tried to keep her eyelids open but an overwhelming sense of tired was claiming her. All she could think about as the blackness took over was that no one knew she had landed in London.


	21. Chapter 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

As far as she could remember, she had never felt nervous or uncertain about a job before, with just one exception; the last truck heist they'd pulled in LA. To this day, she can still remember how conflicted she had felt about it. Everything had felt wrong about it, especially the fact that Jesse wasn't there with them. And now, thinking about how things had turned out, she couldn't help but think that her nervousness wasn't a good omen.

She was feeling like she had no control over what was gonna happen tonight. And she felt powerless to do anything about it. Two feelings she hated above all, and what made it even worse was that it had become painfully obvious to her that Owen was planning something behind her back.

The whole deal was making her worry for her safety, but also for Dom, Brian, and their team.

In order to help calm her nerves and free her mind, she had decided to hit their makeshift gym early in the morning. She knew that she would have to be on top of her game today if she wanted to stop Owen from hurting anyone she cared about or anyone in general. So pushing her body to its limits was a great way for her to relieve some stress.

She had just finished a long workout and was headed inside the house to take a shower when she heard Ivory and Vegh talking in hushed tones through an open window.

"Did you pick up the package at the airport?" she heard Ivory asked Vegh.

"Yes, everything went according to plan. Do you know if Owen was able to reach the buyer for tonight?" Vegh replied.

"Yes, everything is set-up for the exchange. The meeting is at ten o'clock in Chinatown, in the basement of the restaurant New China. Owen is there right now taking care of things, while Klaus and Delinger are putting the finishing touches on the trap in the harbor and on both boats. Do you think Letty suspects anything?" Ivory asked her.

"Possibly, but she's been so focused on sneaking around with her boyfriend that she won't have a clue of what's going on until it's too late. Owen can't wait to-" before Letty could hear more, a car had pulled up to the house, so she slipped back into the gym before she was noticed.

Letty sat down on a bench by the weights and put her head in her hands.

So that was what they had planned; they had changed the meeting location and set up a trap for Dom and his team at the harbor. She wondered what Owen had planned for her tonight.

As far as she knew, she was still in charge of loading their belongings and equipment into their getaway boat, so she should be on that boat all night.

That may or may not change according to whatever Owen had concocted for her as punishment for letting her heart sway her from their team.

Owen could try whatever he wanted to… she knew now who her loyalties belonged to.

Letty took out her cell phone from her gym bag and scrolled down until she found Dom's cell phone number. She had transferred it to her cell just before she left him at the warehouse while he was sleeping. She decided against calling, not wanting to get caught talking to him and decided instead on sending him a text.

_**Harbor is a trap. New meeting place: Basement New China 10 tonight ~ Ride or die.**_

Dom looked down at his cell phone screen, not sure what to make of the text he had just received. Even though it came from a confidential number and wasn't signed, he knew it came from Letty.

He didn't know what to do with this information. He was hesitant about telling the others because if there was really someone leaking their plans to Shaw, then they would tell him that they knew about the new meeting place and it would probably get changed again.

And he hated to think about it, but he also couldn't help but wonder about the reliability of this text. He couldn't get Hobbs' words out of his head; what if Letty was purposely sending them on a wild goose chase? What if she chooses her new team over him? Could he really trust her anymore? Had their night together meant as much to her as it had meant to him?

As if the thought of Letty betraying him wasn't enough, he also had to deal with the fact that his sister was missing. Tej had managed to find out which plane she was on and according to the log, it had landed in London a few hours ago, but no one had heard from her.

Brian and Roman had driven down to the airport to find her but so far, nothing. They hadn't even found her luggage.

He was at loss about what to do next. He didn't want to think about Letty betraying him or what might have happened to Mia. He didn't think he could survive if he lost both women because of this. Owen Shaw would have nowhere to hide to escape what Dom would do to him if anything happened to either or God forbid, both of them.

* * *

"A'right, it looks like we're ready for tonight. Delinger and Klaus, you bring that truck to the designated loading area in the harbor. We'll be right behind you to help you get everything set up for the sale. Jah and Ivory, you bring that truck with the rest of our things to our boat and make sure that everything is loaded on it. Now, everybody knows what to do and where to be, so let's get this done. I will not tolerate any mistakes tonight, so be warned," Owen ordered to his crew before getting ready to get into his personal military Jeep.

"Uh Owen? Wasn't it supposed to be me that drove the truck to our boat?" Letty enquired, already knowing that the plan had been changed without her being informed of it.

"Well, after thinking about it, I decided that Jah would be better fitted to unload the truck and that your abilities would be best served here. I want you to stay here and wipeout everything, make sure that we haven't left anything behind, no trace, no evidence. Once you're done here, then you can meet Jah at the boat and help him set up everything," Owen instructed before getting into his car and driving away with the others, leaving Letty behind by herself.

Letty didn't know what to do now as she stood in middle of the driveway.

She really didn't give a damn about securing the place, all she wanted to do was to find Dom and make sure they didn't show up at the harbor.

But she knew Owen well enough to know that he wouldn't have just left her behind all on her own without some kind of surveillance or tracking device on her; maybe in her phone or in her car. There was always a reason behind everything he did, so he'd had to have a reason to leave her all alone when he didn't trust her. If he really didn't need her, he would have just killed her and been done with her. So what was he up to? What did he need her for?

Somehow, she knew it had something to do with Dom and his team. For a while now, she had suspected that Owen had connection with someone working for Luke Hobbs, since he always seemed to know what the agent was up to before he made a move. So he probably had someone watching them too.

She needed to get to Dom fast and without alerting Shaw's mole, but how?

* * *

"Look, I know that you guys are all worried, but I assure you, I have every cop in this city and the surrounding area looking for Mia. We will find her. Alive. From the airport security footage, we know that she's with Shaw and she wouldn't be any use to him if he killed her. I'm sure he wants to use her as a bargaining chip in case things go south for him," Hobbs told the team in frustration. "But that just gives us more reason to catch this sucker, I need you all to focus on helping me catch Shaw tonight. I have a group of men from the Police Firearms Unit who are going to help us secure the perimeter in the harbor, but I need you guys to be ready to drive after them if they get away," Hobbs instructed.

Dom was half listening to what the DSS Agent was telling them. He had arrived with his partner a few minutes ago to go over tonight's plan and to let them know what was being done to find Mia.

When they had informed Hobbs about the fact that Mia was missing, Hobbs had gone to the airport and demanded to see the surveillance tapes. And that's how they had found out that she had been dragged through the airport, unconscious, by two members of Shaw's crew.

Brian and Dom had gone ballistic.

And now here they were, getting ready to go after Shaw, in London's harbor, while Dom knew that they were probably going to fall into a trap.

He had spent a better part of the afternoon researching the Chinatown area where Letty said that the meeting would take place, but he hadn't shared the information with anyone yet. He didn't feel at this point that he could trust anyone besides his team and they were all preoccupied with finding Mia.

But he was running out of time.

"Hobbs. Brian. I need to talk to you. Now!" Dom's loud voice surprised everyone since he had been keeping to himself all day. He didn't wait for an answer before he made his way towards the elevator and pushed the down button.

When the elevator's door opened, Dom stepped inside, closely followed by Brian and Hobbs who were both wearing puzzled faces but kept silent. Riley had made a move to follow them, but one glare from Dom had made her retreat back to the room with the others.

Dom took them downstairs to the unfinished basement. As soon as they walked in, he started pacing and rubbing his head with both hands.

"Spit it out already Dom, you're driving me nuts here," an annoyed Brian told Dom after watching him walk around without talking for a couple of minutes.

"Damn, just give me a minute here… A'right, I got a text this morning. From Letty," he said looking directly at Hobbs. "She informed me that they had moved the meeting place to the basement of a little restaurant in Chinatown," he hesitantly told them.

"You've known this since this morning but didn't say anything," Luke fumed. But he then took a better look at the nervous man in front of him and he knew instantly what was going on. "You're doubting her, aren't you? You don't know if you can trust her," he told him with a smirk.

Dom lowered his head, his jaw tightened while his fists clenched tightly besides him. He remained quiet, hating himself for feeling this way.

"Wait, did you say this morning? Did she say anything about Mia? How could you not tell me about this," a furious Brian said, shoving Dom at the same time he started yelling.

"Back off, Brian. No, she didn't mention anything about Mia. Just that the harbor was a trap and that they were meeting at 10 at New China. I did some research and I've come up with a way to get in undetected from a connecting building. And Hobbs's right, I didn't say anything because… I'm not sure if we can trust her," Dom said lowly, feeling ashamed for voicing his doubt out loud.

"Well, I guess I know where I stand. Since its seems like I'm not part of this family anymore and can't be trusted, I'll just let myself out and mind my own business."

Dom, Brian and Hobbs quickly turned around, coming face to face with Letty.


	22. Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The three men stared at Letty in stunned silence, not knowing how to react.

She shook her head, "Screw this."

Letty turned around and reached for the door. She was about to leave and never look back when she felt someone tug at her arm.

"NO! Letty wait! I didn't mean… I know you wouldn't… Damn it, just wait!" Dom pleaded with her, letting out a huff of frustration as he stumbled on his words.

She yanked her arm out of his grasp but turned around to face the three men.

Letty folded her arms across her chest, raised one eyebrow and waited for an explanation.

Dom ran a hand over his head as he looked at her with regret.

"There's just been a lot of stuff going on in a short period of time – with you coming back from the dead and working for the devil, what happened the other day with the tank, getting arrested, Mia going missing, Shaw always knowing our next move, it's just been a lot to take in at once and my mind's just been all over the place," Dom tentatively offered.

"And you don't know if you can trust _me_?" she huffed. "Wait, what? Mia's missing? And who got arrested?" a confused Letty asked, her demeanor changing from angry to panicked in seconds.

"Don't act like you don't know. Where's Mia, Letty?" Brian hissed, getting in her face and pushing her backwards.

"Are you serious Brian? You think I had anything to do with Mia going missing?" Letty replied indignantly, pushing him back as hard as he had pushed her.

"How could you? You let them take her and you didn't do shit to stop them," Brian screamed at her, grabbing her by the arms.

"I didn't do anything. I would never do anything to Mia!" Letty yelled back struggling to get out of the tight vice grip he had on her arms.

"Bullshit!" Brian shouted in her face while shaking her.

"Fuck you!" Letty barked at him, her eyes showing how infuriated she was with him.

"ENOUGH!" roared Hobbs. "O'Conner, shut the hell up and let her go!"

Letty and Brian stared at each for a few more tense seconds, but eventually, Brian let go of Letty's arms and took a few steps back. They were still staring at each other angrily, both breathing heavily.

Dom had been too stunned to move during the altercation. The thought had never occurred to him that Letty had been in any way responsible for Mia's abduction. And to think that Brian thought that lowly of her showed him how broken his family was.

It hardened his resolve to pick up the broken pieces and mend them.

Dom was brought out of his trance when Hobbs spoke again.

"Now, Letty, I think it's best you tells us what you know about Mia," Hobbs asked in a calm tone, trying to regain control of the situation.

"I don't know anything, man. Are you sure that Owen took her? How do you know she's not at home with Gabriel?" Letty asked Hobbs, while avoiding looking at Brian.

"She was, but she decided to fly up when Dom and Brian were taken into custody by Interpol. We found footage of her taken this morning when she arrived at Heathrow. She was grabbed, drugged, and dragged out by two members of your crew, Vegh and Adolfson," Hobbes explained to her.

"_No_," Letty murmured in disbelief. She then turned back towards Brian and approached him carefully. "I didn't… I didn't know. _I swear Brian_, I didn't know. Ever since you guys got involved, Owen has been keeping things from me, keeping me at arm's length. I didn't know about Mia. I didn't even know about the change in meeting place until I overheard a conversation this morning. I'm really sorry Brian. You know I would never let anything happened to Mia, right?" Letty softly asked him, her eyes misting with unshed tears.

Brian bowed his head and slightly nodded, letting her know that he believed her but he was clearly still upset about it.

Dom came up behind Letty and wrapped his arms tightly around her, bringing her body flushed against his. The gesture was both meant to comfort her and to let her know that he believed her, that he would stand by her.

Unfortunately, Letty immediately tensed at the contact.

Dom only tightened his grip on her and brought his lips to her ear.

"It's ok, Let, we believe you. We know that you'd never let anything happen to Mia. And I'm sorry for doubting you. I know I can trust you. Ride or die, remember?"

Letty closed her eyes, nodded, and relaxed against him, losing her self in the warm feeling that was running through her body. She brought her hands over his and played with his fingers while she let her head fall into the crook of his neck.

"Ride or die," she whispered.

Hobbs cleared his throat. "As much as I would love to watch you two go at it, we got to figure out what we're gonna do to stop Shaw _and_ get Mia back," he told them sternly.

Reluctantly, Dom let go of Letty, but not before leaving a gentle kiss on the side of her head.

Since they didn't have a lot of time left before the meeting, they agreed to let bygones be bygones _for now_ and to concentrate on a plan of attack.

Dom, Brian and Hobbs filled Letty in on what was happening on their end. Letty then told them more about the meeting tonight and what she had heard about the new location.

"How can I be sure this isn't a set up? I mean, how can we even believe anything you say? As far as we know, maybe Shaw sent you here," Hobbs harshly accused her.

Dom took offense and immediately went to her defense. "You better watch how you talk to her Hobbs," he growled.

Hobbs glared at him, "Just because you love her doesn't mean I trust her."

"I guess you're just gonna have to take a chance and trust me," Letty stated, looking Hobbs straight in the eyes.

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see. How did you even find us?" Hobbs asked her, glancing at Dom, trying to see if he was behind her showing-up.

"I might not be able to follow the odor of skanks anymore, but I can still smell NOS a mile away. Not that many places in London that sells and delivers it in cases. Just needed to know where to look," Letty told them with a smug grin, casting a side glace at Dom.

"I think right now, our main concern should be to keep the element of surprise intact," Brian interrupted them, wanting to bring them back to work. "We need to wait until the very last minute before informing everyone of the change in plan. Which means that no one can know what we know, and that they can't see Letty with us right now," he added in a serious tone.

"A'right, here's what we're gonna do…" Dom started, filling them in on the plan he had come up with.

* * *

"How is everything on your end?" Owen asked Jah after Vegh, Adolfson, and him had finished setting everything up for their meeting.

"Everything is ready to go, sir," his new second in command answered.

"Good, good. What's the latest on Letty?" Owen then asked.

"Um, well, Denlinger lost her, sir. She got rid of everything, even her car, and he wasn't able to track her," Jah informed him with apprehension, knowing that his leader wouldn't be pleased with this piece of information.

"You've got to be kidding me! So we don't know where she is and if she got in touch with Toretto or Hobbs?" Owen demanded through clenched teeth.

"No, sir. Ivory has been keeping an eye on Toretto's hideout but so far, only his team, Hobbs and his partner have been there. Hasn't your contact been in-touch with you, letting you know what's going on with them?" Jah cautiously inquired.

"No, we deemed it too risky to keep in contact for the next 24 hours, except if there was a change in plan," Owen coldly replied. He was slowly but surely losing control of the situation ever since Toretto and his team had showed up. Thank God, he knew just where to hit them to make it count.

He probably should have listened to his partner when she had told him to get rid of Letty because she had become unreliable, but he had been too confident that one of his would ever turn their back on him – especially not for some deadbeat ex-boyfriend.

In retrospect, he should have been more concerned and sent Letty away immediately when he had learned of Toretto's evolvement. He should have remembered that he was the reason why she had risked her life by working with the FBI against Braga. She had been a great addition to his crew and had been very efficient, but it was now obvious that her loyalty wasn't to him anymore.

But he wouldn't be beaten at his own game by some small time criminal and his lovesick playmate. No, he was going to make sure that they didn't make it out of the UK alive.

"We have everything under control over here, sir. We'll be ready to go a soon as you make your way back, and Toretto, Hobbs, and Letty will be a thing of the past." Jah confirmed to his leader.

"Have Denlinger keep an eye on the harbor. Tell him to make sure to handle anyone that shows up, to use any means necessary. And tell him and Ivory that if they see Letty, they should shoot to kill, understood?" Owen instructed.

"Yes, sir!" Jah answered earnestly.

"Good," Owen told him before hanging up.

* * *

Dom, Brian and Hobbs had been gone for almost an hour when they finally made their way back to the team.

"What's up?" Han was the first to ask when he saw their serious faces.

"We've decided to make some changes to the plan," Dom vaguely offered.

"What kind of changes?" Riley eagerly asked.

After making eye contact with Brian and Dom, Hobbs answered her, "Why don't we go and I'll let you know on our way to meet with the Police Firearms Unit." He didn't give her time to comment before he dragged her by the elbow to the still open doors of the elevator and left.

"I don't really trust this place right now, so why don't we go grab some food and we'll let you in on what's going on," Dom told his team who all looked at him strangely but didn't complain.

He didn't really think that there was anything to worry about in their hideout, but he knew that Letty was waiting for him in his car and he just couldn't wait to be with her again. He had been away from her for so long that he didn't want to waste anymore time. And even though she didn't want him to, he couldn't help wanting to be near her to make sure she was safe.

* * *

After grabbing some food and going over the plan, the team went their separate ways, all taking their position inside their cars near the main intersections in Chinatown.

Dom, Brian, and Letty decided to wait together for Hobbs instructions, inside Dom's car.

Dom and Brian sat in the front while Letty stayed in the back.

"Hey Letty," Brian started, turning around in his seat to look her in the eyes. "I wanted to tell you that… well, I'm sorry for how things went down with Braga. I never meant for any of it to happen and I never meant for you to feel that Shaw was your only option," Brian sincerely told Letty.

"Yeah, I get that now. But back then, Owen made it seem so much like you didn't give a shit about what happened to me as long as you got Mia and Dom back," Letty quietly replied, remembering how betrayed she had felt at the time.

"What happened that night? The last I heard of you, you were following your GPS to go meet Campos to make the run," Brian asked her.

"Well, they searched the cars for tracking devices and then we got in the truck to get to the other side of the border, like I guess you and Dom did," Letty started.

"Wait, you know about us going after Braga?" Dom interrupted.

"Yeah, Owen told me that you guys took down Braga. He thought it was a good thing since he didn't want him coming after me. Did you guys know that Owen and Braga were working together?" Letty asked them.

"Gisele told us that she saw him with Braga, that they were working together, but she didn't know what they were doing," Brian answered her.

"Owen has a lot of contacts in high places, so a lot of organizations contact him and offer him money to get them some information. Braga was paranoid about getting caught and people finding out that he was actually Campos, so he paid Owen to know if the FBI were closing in on him. That's how he knew about the drivers working for the Feds and started killing them. I actually met Owen the night I was recruited by Braga, but I didn't know who he was, so I really didn't pay him any attention. Did Dom tell you about Owen slipping me that note with instruction to follow?" Letty asked Brian.

"Yeah, he was actually kinda pissed about the fact that Owen liked you and had wanted to test you," Brian chuckled while looking at Dom who clearly didn't think it was funny.

Rolling her eyes at Dom, Letty continued, "Well, the note basically said that I should stay close to my car and take off as soon as things got heated. There was a small drawing of which road to take and an address to go to. I followed the directions, but Fenix came after me and crashed my car. While I was struggling to get out, he shot my gas tank. I barely had time to crawl out on the other side before the whole thing exploded. Owen and his crew had been following us and as soon as Fenix left the scene, they came and picked me up. Owen asked me to joined his crew, which I wasn't to sure about at first, but then he showed me evidence on how you and the FBI had made it seemed like I was dead in order to catch Dom and all this other stuff about you guys, and well, here we are," Letty summed up, not wanting to think about all the pictures she had seen of her family moving on without her.

"So Shaw is probably the one responsible for faking your death. That means he planted a body that looked like you in your car and that the FBI's coroner must have been on Shaw's payroll," Brian added, trying to understand more about what had happened.

"Well if you say it wasn't the Feds, then it had to be Owen," Letty confirmed.

* * *

While Dom, Brian and Letty were talking, Han and Gisele took their portable CB with them and decided to wait in a little café near the meeting location.

"So…" Han started slowly, gazing intensely into Gisele's eyes.

"So…" Gisele flirted back.

"I was thinking… what do you want to do after we're done with this shit?" Han asked her in a serious tone, his fingers playing with hers.

"I don't really know," she shrugged and answered him. "We've pretty much been going wherever the wind takes us, so I haven't really thought about it. Why? Are you getting tired of me? Now that you're gonna be free to go wherever you want, you wanna be free from me also?" she told him in a playful tone.

"Nah, I've oddly become fond of you and actually, I wouldn't even mind having you around… permanently," he hesitantly told her, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Permanently?" she repeated with a squeak to her voice. She was totally caught off guard.

"Well, yeah. I'm not saying that we should agree to anything specific _right now_, but I wouldn't mind going somewhere and just, you know, settling down. It feels like I've just had about enough excitement to last me a lifetime. How 'bout you?" he told her with a smirk.

"Uh, yeah," a stunned Gisele barely got out, her eyes blinking rapidly as she processed what he was actually telling her.

"I've always wanted to go to Tokyo. Maybe open up a garage or something, and do the whole traditional married with kids thing," Han told her shrugging, seeming nervous for the very first time in his life.

"Tokyo? Married with children? Huh… wow," an unmoving, dazed Gisele repeated.

"Ha ha ha! You a'right?" Han asked her with a big smile, smitten by the fact that he had stunned her speechless.

"Yeah… huh… I'm fine, great," she answered, her eyes staring blindly at some fixed point over his shoulder, no longer registering anything around her.

Before he had time to tell her more, he heard Hobbs's voice over the CB, "A'right, they should be in there by now. We're going in. Get ready to go after them."

They ran back to their car, knowing that this was it; this was the moment they had been waiting for. They were finally going to catch Owen Shaw.


End file.
